WOTUS rule gets new approval as debate continues
October 24, 2014 | 04:32 PM
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Scientific Advisory Board review panel endorsed the Waters of the United States rule Thursday as a group of Republican senators called for withdrawal of the interpretive rule for agriculture associated with it and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union released a video endorsing the rule.
“The EPA report is a thorough and technically accurate review of the literature on the connectivity of streams and wetlands to downstream water,” the advisory board said.
“The SAB agrees with two of the three major conclusions in the report. The SAB finds that the review of the scientific literature strongly supports the conclusions that streams and ‘bidirectional’ floodplain wetlands are physically, chemically, and/or biologically connected to downstream navigable waters; however, these connections should be considered in terms of a connectivity gradient.”
“The SAB recommends revisions to improve the clarity of the report, better reflect the scientific evidence, expand the discussion of approaches to quantifying connectivity, and make the document more useful to decision-makers. The SAB disagrees with the conclusion that there is insufficient information available to generalize about the connectivity of wetlands in ‘unidirectional,’ non-floodplain settings,” the board said.
“In that case, the SAB finds that the scientific literature supports a more definitive statement that reflects how numerous functions of non-floodplain wetlands sustain the physical, chemical, and/or biological integrity of downstream waters, although the degree of connectivity can vary widely.”
Meanwhile, nine Republican senators sent EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy a letter this week urging her to withdraw the rule. The senators included three in tight re-election races: Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas.
▪ Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Advisory Board letter to McCarthy
▪ EPA: Waters of the United States
▪ Senate letter to McCarthy on WOTUS
▪ Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (Video) — Farmer from Colorado Supports Clean Water Featuring Song from REM
“The EPA report is a thorough and technically accurate review of the literature on the connectivity of streams and wetlands to downstream water,” the advisory board said.
“The SAB agrees with two of the three major conclusions in the report. The SAB finds that the review of the scientific literature strongly supports the conclusions that streams and ‘bidirectional’ floodplain wetlands are physically, chemically, and/or biologically connected to downstream navigable waters; however, these connections should be considered in terms of a connectivity gradient.”
“The SAB recommends revisions to improve the clarity of the report, better reflect the scientific evidence, expand the discussion of approaches to quantifying connectivity, and make the document more useful to decision-makers. The SAB disagrees with the conclusion that there is insufficient information available to generalize about the connectivity of wetlands in ‘unidirectional,’ non-floodplain settings,” the board said.
“In that case, the SAB finds that the scientific literature supports a more definitive statement that reflects how numerous functions of non-floodplain wetlands sustain the physical, chemical, and/or biological integrity of downstream waters, although the degree of connectivity can vary widely.”
Meanwhile, nine Republican senators sent EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy a letter this week urging her to withdraw the rule. The senators included three in tight re-election races: Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas.
▪ Environmental Protection Agency Scientific Advisory Board letter to McCarthy
▪ EPA: Waters of the United States
▪ Senate letter to McCarthy on WOTUS
▪ Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (Video) — Farmer from Colorado Supports Clean Water Featuring Song from REM
