Please Take Action to Restore the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act is simply the most effective tool we have to protect clean water for wildlife and communities alike. But some of the measures that made it especially effective were removed by the Trump administration.

We need your help to fully restore the Clean Water Act.

Please act today to restore clean water protections so river otters can thrive.

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Comment re: Clean Water Act Water Quality Certification Improvement; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2022-0128

Dear Administrator Regan:

The Clean Water Act is the most important tool we have to keep our waters clean and safe. For decades, Section 401 of the Clean Water Act has successfully allowed states, Tribes, and the federal government to cooperatively manage our shared water resources – and ensured that local voices and concerns are not disregarded in the process. I support the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Certification Improvement Rule, which will undo the harmful 2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule and fully restore the broad state and Tribal authority to protect their waters.

Water Quality Certification is a critical process available to states and Tribes to ensure that federally-licensed projects are protective of water quality and aquatic habitat for important uses such as drinking water, fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation. The harmful 2020 Rule directly undermines this authority, allowing federal agencies to effectively override the determinations made by states and Tribes if the federal agencies disagree and restricting the types of protective conditions that could be placed on federally licensed or permitted activities that threaten state or Tribal waters.

The proposed Certification Improvement Rule would restore this longstanding authority, allowing states and Tribes to take appropriate action to protect water quality, including by establishing adequate flow and conditions for fish and wildlife and preserving access to waters for fishing, swimming, and recreation. This is even more significant in light of climate change impacts and a potential harmful Supreme Court ruling that could diminish the number of waters federally protected by the Act.

The Certification Improvement Rule appropriately restores the certifying authority’s scope of review to encompass the activity as a whole and not just the discharge. It also appropriately restores the balance between states, Tribes, and the federal government when it comes to managing water resources by limiting the ability of federal agencies to override state or Tribal decisions. I urge the EPA to swiftly finalize this rule to ensure federally licensed and permitted projects move forward in a way that protects important water uses that communities and wildlife alike rely on.

Thank you,
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