EPA Administrator McCarthy Gives an Overview of EPA's Clean Water Act Rule Proposal

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In this video, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy provides an overview of the proposed rule for the Clean Water Act and highlights how EPA is taking action to keep America's waters clean and healthy.
For more information about the Clean Water Act rule proposal, go to www.epa.gov/usw...
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[@EPAgov]

Administrator Gina McCarthy, about our proposed rule for the Clean Water Act: “It’s about protecting unspoiled places to hunt, fish, and swim - for this generation and beyond.” #USwaters

[@rex0370]

So in simple terms, what waters are excluded?

[@gailkopinwill2434]

It is crucial to protect our natural waters and resources. As a health environmental educator and naturopath who tests water and provides bio chemistry testing. Our waters are less safe and often filled with contaminants - toxins which contribute to many root cause to diseases. Healthy Clean Water is crucial for life and everything living. Prevention is the key. Please make this a priority.

[@GrantMcbee68]

Obviously, upstream waters flow downstream into 'navigable' waters which flow over public land. This while, upstream waters flow, trickle and seep mostly over private lands. These 'clarified' regulations will certainly impact the rights of private property. The CWA still treats these upstream waters as if they were navigable and therefore 'publicly owned'. The CWA needs to recognize that the scope of federal authority over private lands -which happen to have air or water flowing or seeping across them- is limited to protecting the downstream water-quality or downwind air-quality. We can have clean water AND recognize property rights.
Because the CWA was written to protect "navigable waters" (waters over Public Trust Lands), each expanded interpretation of the jurisdictional scope beyond navigable waters expands EPA jurisdiction over private property. Although it is understandable that protecting downstream public property by necessity requires initiatives upstream, the scope of jurisdiction under the CWA should recognize the distinction between 'regulating' and protecting' public waters and preventing waters flowing over private property from damaging downstream public property. The Clean Air Act provides such regulatory balance, this jurisdictional expansion under the Clean Water Act seeks to ignore private property and the associated property rights.
What is needed with the EPA's definition for 'Waters of the United States' is clear recognition that the scope of EPA authority and discretion does not extend beyond that necessary to protect the quality of downstream waters. The CWA roles and responsibilities upstream should be focused on education and support support rather than permitting-fees and regulatory fines.