Dangerous Trump Water Rule Tossed: Good News for San Francisco Bay

Aug 31, 2021

Oakland, CA—A federal judge Monday threw out a major Trump administration rule that scaled back federal protections for streams, marshes, and wetlands across the United States. Trump's rule would have allowed pollution and the draining and filling of streams, marshes, and wetlands.

 

Over forty percent of the Bay Area’s stream miles, and over sixty percent of the creeks across California, would have lost protection under Trump's rule.

 

San Francisco Baykeeper Executive Director Sejal Choksi-Chugh issued the following statement:

"The court determined that the Trump administration's gutting of the Clean Water Act was illegal and would have caused serious environmental harm—it’s a good decision for the nation's waterways in general, and for San Francisco Bay in particular. 

 

"We called Trump’s rollback the “Dirty Water Rule” because it would have stripped protections for over 40 percent of the streams that feed into San Francisco Bay. The rule would have made these waterways vulnerable to pollution and to the whims of developers who might want to fill them in. The health of the Bay depends on a regular supply of clean, fresh water, which these streams help provide—without a healthy Bay, our local endangered species would be pushed to extinction, fisheries would collapse, the livelihoods of thousands of Bay Area residents would vanish.  

 

"The Clean Water Act has been a monumental force of good for the health of the Bay and Delta, and we’re advocating for the Biden administration to make it even stronger. It's inexcusable to sacrifice our beautiful San Francisco Bay to help polluters and developers make bigger profits."

 
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