Today President Trump signed an executive order that will being the process of unraveling the Clean Water Rule.
The rule provides important protections for all who fish or simply enjoy clean water, protecting nearly 60 percent of the stream miles in the U.S. and ensuring the drinking water for nearly one in three Americans.
Trout Unlimited’s President and CEO, Chris Wood, had this to say about rollback:
“For Trout Unlimited, whose members and staff are devoted to improving the nation’s rivers, streams and fisheries, have a simple question for the Trump Administration and Administrator Pruitt: Are we going forward or backwards on clean water?
Today’s announcement is a big step back. But there’s still a lot time to make it right.
When the new Administration replaces the Clean Water Rule, it must listen to the voices of sportsmen and women who want more clean water, more fish and wildlife habitat, and more hunting and angling opportunities. The Trump Administration can change direction on this Rule but they can’t change the fact that clean water is not a political issue. It is a basic right of every American.
Gravity works cheap, and it never takes a day off. The Administration cannot stop water flowing downhill—and we all live downstream. To be effective, the Clean Water Act must be able to control pollution at its source, upstream in the headwaters and wetlands that flow downstream through communities to our major lakes, rivers, and bays. The Administration’s action places the health of 60 percent of the stream miles in the US at risk. Trout Unlimited intends to ensure that the voices of our hundreds of thousands of members and supporters are heard.”