FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 27, 2015
Obama Administration Acts Today To Keep America’s Waters Safe
Izaak Walton League Applauds Science-Based Rule To Protect Water Quality
Gaithersburg, MD – More than a decade of uncertainty came to an end today when the Obama Administration issued a rule clarifying which waters of the United States are protected under the Clean Water Act. On behalf of sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts across the country, the Izaak Walton League applauds the administration’s work to protect Americans and our economy.
Sportsmen need clean water to ensure healthy fish and wildlife populations. Farmers need clean water for livestock and crops. And every American needs clean water to drink, swim in, boat on, and enjoy. The clean water rule will restore protections for small streams and wetlands that were eliminated due to confusing Supreme Court decisions and agency rules.
“By finalizing the clean water rule, the Obama Administration is taking decisive action to protect water quality and conserve critical habitat for fish and wildlife nationwide,” said Izaak Walton League Executive Director Scott Kovarovics. “The Izaak Walton League strongly supports the final rule, which ensures that science and common sense will determine how the Clean Water Act applies to streams, wetlands, and other waters.”
Since 2000, at least 20 million wetland acres and nearly 60 percent of stream miles in the continental United States lost protection from pollution and destruction due to policies that ignored the science on connections between upstream and downstream waters. The new clean water rule will better protect streams that provide drinking water to 117 million people and are vital to a vibrant outdoor recreation economy. In developing this rule, the Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spent several years studying the science of streams and gathering unprecedented public input.
“Americans who hunt, fish, boat, and enjoy the outdoors understand the importance of clean water and healthy habitat,” said Kovarovics. “We appreciate the administration’s efforts to protect these waters as originally intended by Congress when it passed the Clean Water Act.”
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Founded in 1922, the Izaak Walton League of America protects America's outdoors through education, community-based conservation, and promoting outdoor recreation.
Contact:
Dawn Merritt, Director of Communications
(301) 548-0150 x220 or dmerritt@iwla.org