Clean Water Act

[afishinado]

Article about the CWA proposed changes being halted >

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/08/judge-ends-trump-era-clean-water-act-policy-before-replacement-is-created/

 

[Tigereye]

Defining waterways has been contentious for years. I think it is like pornography, we can't define it but we know it when we see it.

I worked in the environmental field for almost 40 years. While most state regulators are reasonable, there are zealots who claimed essentially all waters to be a "waterways of the US

Most if not all of the puddles and runoff that we saw the past 2 days would qualify under the definition. Puddle in your yard? Small flow of watter in the street in front of your house? No exception you are regulated.

It really needs to be fixed.

 

[RLeep2]

Yes, it has been going on for as long as I can remember. And it will continue to go on so long as there are occasionally over zealous regulators and there are those within the regulated community who will use the "its only a mud puddle" excuse to shade or avoid the law. The two polarities are sort of a reactive perpetual motion machine for the purpose of stymying their opposites. And so it never ends..

My view is I believe in a common sense approach to this stuff and if we are to err, we should err on the side of environmental caution.

I also believe pretty strongly in the law of gravity when it comes to assessing the potential environmental impact of flowing water. Gravity has been around a long, long time and has a proven track record...

 

[troutbert]

Tigereye wrote:
Defining waterways has been contentious for years.

Most if not all of the puddles and runoff that we saw the past 2 days would qualify under the definition. Puddle in your yard? Small flow of watter in the street in front of your house? No exception you are regulated.

Do the definitions of waterways actually include puddles and small flows of water in the street after heavy rains? What are the definitions of waterways?

Do you have examples of those things being defined as waterways?

 

[pcray1231]

1. All waters which are currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to
use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb
and flow of the tide;
2. All interstate waters including interstate wetlands;
3. All other waters such as intrastate lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams),
mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, or
natural ponds, the use, degradation or destruction of which could affect interstate or
foreign commerce including any such waters:
(I) Which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other
purposes; or
(ii)(From which fish or shellfish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce;
or
(iii) Which are used or could be used for industrial purposes by industries in interstate
commerce;
4. All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this
definition;
5. Tributaries of waters identified in paragraphs (s)(1) through (4) of this section;
6. The territorial sea;
7. Wetlands adjacent to waters (other than waters that are themselves wetlands) identified in
paragraphs (s)(1) through (6) of this section; waste treatment systems, including
treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of CWA (other than
cooling ponds as defined in 40 CFR 423.11(m) which also meet the criteria of this
definition) are not waters of the United States.


So to be clear, this means that tributaries of intermittent streams and wet meadows are considered to be waters of the united states and subject to the CWA. The drainage ditch along the road could be considered an intermittent stream, and thus the small flows of water on the street are tributaries, no?

See, it depends how zealous they wanna get.

 

[Swattie87]

^That’s some old school pcray there.