President Trump’s EPA Put Midwestern Water at Risk: Find Out How
Watch what they do, not what they say
Water is a basic human need, and a defining feature of the Midwest. From the region’s most iconic waterways – the Mississippi River and Great Lakes – to the creeks, brooks, and streams that make up more than half the river-miles in the nation, our communities and economies depend on safe, clean water. When President Trump visits the Midwest, he claims to love and protect our region’s waterways, but the reality is that he has systematically rolled back environmental protections left and right.
Here are a few water-related rollbacks that affect the Midwest:
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) – The Great Lakes provide safe clean drinking water for 42 million people and support a $62 billion economy based on fishing, boating, and recreational activities. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funds go towards cleaning beaches, removing toxic pollution, curbing the influx of invasive species, and restoring fish and wildlife habitat. Every dollar invested brings over $3 back to Great Lakes communities in additional economic activity. The Trump Administration has repeatedly tried to eliminate or severely cut the budget for this successful program. After public outcry, GLRI funding has been restored or expanded each year, with bipartisan congressional support.
The Clean Water Act – Since it was implemented in 1972, the Clean Water Act has helped to significantly improve our nation’s water quality, but the Trump Administration is now trying to take it apart piece by piece. Here are three components at risk:
Clean Water Rule – The Trump EPA is trying to limit the scope of the Clean Water Act by redefining the “waters of the United States” under protection. In a move that goes against established law and science, EPA would remove federal protections from 51% of the nation’s wetlands and 18% of the nation’s streams, including many critical tributaries to waterways Midwesterners rely on for drinking water.
State Oversight – Under the Clean Water Act (section 401), states and tribes have the authority to review federal projects like highways, pipelines, and transmission lines, to protect local waterways. The EPA is proposing to alter this long-standing cooperative arrangement, to block states and tribes from being able to reject harmful projects. A broad coalition of states and organizations have stepped up to oppose this attempt to unlawfully strip away states rights and local authority.
Groundwater discharges – Surface water bodies like lakes and rivers are not sealed off from the water around them. Pollution in the groundwater can leach into surface water, so the EPA has always prohibited toxic discharges into groundwater that has a “hydrological connection” to surface water. Under the Trump Administration, the EPA has proposed limiting the Clean Water Act’s protections to only surface waters. This obvious loophole would allow polluters to inject waste into groundwater directly adjacent to surface water. Fortunately, the Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of protecting groundwater.
Mercury & Air Toxics Standards (MATS) – Mercury is an extremely toxic pollutant known to harm babies’ brain development and increase risks of heart attacks, diabetes, and other diseases. Coal plants and other industries emit mercury into the air, where it can settle on surface waters like the Great Lakes. Then it is absorbed up the food chain into the fish we eat. In 2011, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule required coal plants to install pollution control technology, which led to an 85% decline in mercury pollution from 2006-2016. Now the Trump Administration wants to gut this effective policy, increasing the risk of mercury poisoning to our communities.
Declining EPA Enforcement – Under the Trump Administration, the EPA has stepped back from its responsibility to protect the Great Lakes and other Midwestern waterways under the Clean Water Act. President Trump has routinely proposed steep budget cuts to EPA, and the agency now spends far less than appropriated for enforcement. Shrinking funds and plummeting staff levels led to a 60% drop in Midwest inspections, and a steep decline in enforcement cases and penalties. If more facilities were following the law, we might expect to see fewer cases and penalties for a good reason. However, in 2019 there were 62% more facilities in significant noncompliance with the Clean Water Act, compared to 2012-2017 averages. This means more facilities are leaching pollutants like mercury, nickel, ammonia, and arsenic into rivers and lakes across the Midwest. Without a strong expectation of environmental law enforcement, polluters are more likely to violate the law and avoid accountability.
Coal Ash – The waste from coal plants has historically been stored in unlined open ponds, where it regularly leaches heavy metals like mercury and arsenic into local groundwater and, occasionally, surface water. After a dike ruptured in Tennessee in 2008, spilling over 1 billion gallons of coal ash into a river, U.S. EPA began developing rules to regulate coal ash, to protect the American people from these toxins. The Trump Administration is now trying to roll back common sense rules that protect our water from coal ash, coal plant wastewater, and coal mines, to allow polluters to continue harming our water for years.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) – This bedrock environmental law requires informed and thoughtful decision-making for big projects like highways or pipelines. Before a federal agency can start construction, it has to look at how its actions will affect the environment, give this information to the public and decision makers, and consider input from the public. Under the Trump Administration, the Council on Environmental Quality has proposed a complete overhaul of the rules for how federal agencies carry out NEPA reviews. It would prevent agencies from considering climate impacts, allow them to more easily rush bad projects, discourage public participation, and attempt to prevent court oversight. EPA’s own Science Advisory Board has found this proposal deeply flawed and inconsistent with science. Climate change is already affecting the Midwest with extreme flooding, toxic algae blooms, and invasive species. NEPA is a critical tool to consider the long-term impacts of large-scale developments, to protect Midwestern waterways, public health, and the economy.
River Levees – The Upper Mississippi River faced devastating floods in recent years, putting additional strain on our levees and other river infrastructure. The Trump Administration’s proposed budget cuts to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will make it tougher to effectively monitor and repair high-risk levees, leaving riverside communities at risk of flooding and damage.
The facts are clear.
Tell President Trump that you care about safe, clean water.