The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule in March that is intended to clarify which waterways are protected under the Clean Water Act. The federal government says recent court rulings muddled up the legislation.
“It does not protect any new types of waters that have not historically been covered under the Clean Water Act and is consistent with the Supreme Court’s more narrow reading of Clean Water Act jurisdiction,” the EPA says.
Yet the proposal is under attack by some the agriculture industry. The National Milk Producers Federation and the American Farm Bureau say the proposal could threaten farming, ranching, homebuilding and energy production.
