For more than fifty years, the Clean Water Act has been one of our most effective tools for keeping toxic pollution out of rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
Now, the Trump administration is trying to weaken the Clean Water Act by rewriting which waters qualify under the law. By narrowing the law, EPA would remove federal protections for many smaller streams and wetlands that play a vital role in protecting water quality.
Wetlands across Illinois, waterways that feed the Mississippi River, and streams that flow into the Great Lakes could all lose critical protection. Most of the Midwest’s wetlands have already disappeared due to decades of drainage and development, which makes it even more critical to safeguard the remaining wetlands that protect water quality and reduce flooding.
If federal protections are stripped away, these waters will be more vulnerable to contamination and development, and our communities will bear the costs. EPA should protect the waters that keep our communities healthy, not remove the safeguards that have worked for decades.
Send a comment and urge EPA to withdraw this proposal and maintain strong Clean Water Act protections.
