In May 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers finalized a rule clarifying landmark clean water protections for critical waters of this nation. This rule safeguards 2 million miles of streams, 20 million acres of wetlands, and other vitally important waters that have been at risk since Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006.
The National Wildlife Federation and our affiliate partners are vital to the implementation of this rule, which, once implemented, will not only help millions of migratory birds, river otters, fish, and other wildlife, but will lead to cleaner drinking water for more than a third of all Americans, help reduce flooding in communities, and lead to improved water quality across the country, including in some of the major iconic waters like the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes we are working to restore.
Read the final rule here and join in support for America’s waters.
Fact Sheets
The Clean Water Rule: Protecting America’s Waters
Action Center
Call on your legislators to support the Clean Water Rule or share with your members and online networks:
Safeguard Clean Water for Great Blue Herons.
Affiliates in the News
Prairie Rivers Network Press Release
West Virginia Rivers Coalition Announcement
Sen. Kirk Opposed Clean Water Rule by Kim Knowles, Staff Attorney for Prairie Rivers Network, The News-Gazette
Maine’s Senators Must Defend Our Clean Streams, Wetlands by George Lapointe for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Bangor Daily News
Media and Blog Posts
The Clean Water Rule: A Q&A with the EPA by Mike Toth, Field & Stream
Good News for the Nation’s Waterways by Robert B. Semple Jr., New York Times
Reasons We Need the Clean Water Rule by Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator and Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Historic Day for Clean Water by Collin O’Mara, NWF President & CEO
Small but Mighty: Streams and Wetlands that Matter by Tori Leach, NWF Online Marketing Coordinator
6 Ways the Clean Water Act Benefits You by Maggie Yancey, NWF Water Resources Campaign Coordinator
Video
7 Videos Inspiring Clean Water Support