Washington D.C.– In response to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Army releasing a revised Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, better characterized as the “Polluted Water Rule,” restricting which bodies of water are protected by the Clean Water Act, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) released the following statement from Healthy Communities Program Director Madeleine Foote:

“The Trump administration’s Polluted Water Rule is another blatant giveaway to big corporate polluters that will jeopardize the waters that our families and communities rely on for drinking, recreation, and fueling our local economies. In 2023, the Supreme Court’s devastating Sackett decision stripped federal protections from millions of miles of streams and tens of millions of acres of wetlands, and now corporate polluters are pushing their friends in the administration to go even further in decimating our clean water safeguards. They won’t be happy until the Clean Water Act is nothing more than words on a page and they can pollute our waters with abandon.

“The public overwhelmingly supports stronger protections for our waters, and contrary to this administration’s preference, do not think polluting industries should be left to police themselves. The Trump administration should abandon this attempt to ignore science and the law, and work to ensure everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, has access to the clean water they deserve.”

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