Good news -- the Biden administration is repealing environmental regulations put in place by the Trump regime that significantly reduced protections for streams and waterways.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Michael Regan says the agency is replacing the Trump era Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
“After reviewing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule as directed by President Biden, the EPA and Department of the Army have determined that this rule is leading to significant environmental degradation,” Regan said in a statement, pointing to data that found the Trump rule had led to the greenlighting of 333 projects that would have previously required a Clean Water Act dredge-and-fill permit.
Those include a massive proposed open-pit copper mine near Tucson, Ariz., and a heavy mineral sand strip mine proposed for just outside of Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, home to a national wildlife refuge and national wilderness area.
The Trump era rule was named the "Navigable Waters" protection rule because it sought to open up more waterways for development and pollution by recategorizing smaller streams or swamps that were broadly protected before. In short, the Trump regime made water more vulnerable by saying it doesn't count if you can't have a boat parade on it. Some smaller bodies of water were exempted from the Clean Water Act under the new rules.
The bad news is putting new rules in place will take years. New rules may not even take effect if we don't keep a Democrat in the White House in 2024.