Jerome, S. (2017, Feb. & march). Trump Issues Executive Order To Disassemble WOTUS. Retrieved March 9, 2017, from https://www.wateronline.com/doc/trump-issues-executive-order-to-disassemble-wotus-0001
Trump took steps last week to unravel a major water-policy regulation passed during the Obama administration.The Clean Water Rule — also known as the Water of the United States rule (WOTUS) — was the chief water-policy achievement of the Obama administration. Backers say it clarified which waters the U.S. EPA can regulate under the Clean Water Act. They argued that this issue has become increasingly unclear due to court decisions.The agriculture sector and the GOP framed the rule, currently unenforceable due to a court stay, as a government power grab that would hurt the economy.
This article is very interesting and very current. It is surprising how fast Trump can make life changing decisions as his presidency has just begun. Trump signed the order “surrounded by a group of farmers, homebuilders and county commissioners,” according to NPR.”It was a massive power grab,” Trump said, per NPR. “Regulations and permits started treating our wonderful small farmers and small businesses as if they were a major industrial polluter. They treated them horribly.” Not only is he getting rid of a very big water policy but he is treating people horrible while doing it. I wonder what will happen now that this policy is gone.
Great and timely find. I can see Trump’s point in a way, however, my guess is that the small family farmer he is speaking about is a pretty small piece in the puzzle. Most farms are large agribusiness operations. As you can imagine, water policy can be a job killer… and can be hard on ecosystems too. We know what Trump’s stand is. So, like you say, policy can be changed quickly. Obama probably put it in with executive power, and then Trump signs it away. I guess the lesson is there needs to be broader support for things we want to last.
I hope your topic kept you interested this year. Water is probably our biggest issue as a society. Thanks for all your work on this.