Egelko, B. (2022, February 1). State ready to fill gaps if High Court Limits Water Law. San Francisco Chronicle, 1/28/2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://digital.olivesoftware.com/olive/odn/sanfranciscochronicle/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=HSFC%2F2022%2F01%2F28&entity=Ar00103&sk=67375259&mode=text#=undefined
The Clean Water Act protected certain types of water from pollution for 50 years. The Supreme Court wants to narrow the Act’s scope, which threatens certain wetlands. There are arguments of whether the Clean Water Act is specific only to bodies of water, and not wetlands. Politicians are concerned about California wetlands which are extremely important to the environment. Additionally, if wetlands in other states are not protected and destroyed, the damage will be caused to California wildlife and ecosystems.
I think that the problem in this situation is that laws already put in place are vague and not specific enough, which lets different people interpret the guidelines in different ways. If better regulations can be put in place, there will be less confusion about which ecosystems fall under which laws. This article is related to environmental science because it concerns the Clean Water Act, which is a fundamental member of environmental laws.
I agree the laws need to be specific and clean, so there aren’t multiple definitions of one law. What is the punishment for breaking the Clean Water Act? Is it only a fine?
Thank you for commenting. According to EPA, violators of the Clean Water Act may be subject to imprisonment and a fine. The specifics are under “criminal enforcement” on this website: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/clean-water-act-cwa-and-federal-facilities#EPA%20Enforcement
Awesome post! I agree with the fact that, because the Clean Water Act is a fundamental member of environmental laws it should be clear and concise to what ecosystems fall under it. My question is what parts of the act specifically or vague and need editing?
Thanks for commenting! A part of the law that is unclear is that it refers to “the waters of the United States” but doesn’t specify which “waters” fall under the category.
This is very worrisome… I hope that wetlands can continue being conserved and protected. Do you have any idea which kinds of laws may be implemented to combat a federal ruling?
Thank you for your comment. I think the problem is not with the types of laws, but that the existing laws are unclear and can be interpreted in different ways.