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Hi there. I'm Arvin Ganesan, Deputy Chief of Staff at the United States Environmental
Protection Agency. I wanted to take a minute to explain why EPA's new Clean Water Act proposal is
so important. First, here's a crash course in Clean Water
Act history... Before 1972, there was nothing stopping the
dumping of pollution and toxic substances into rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands. Our
local waterways became so polluted that a river in Ohio even caught on fire.
That's why Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972—to make sure all the waters
in the United States were "swimmable and fishable" by protecting them from dirty pollution discharge.
Not just for big rivers and lakes, but also the smaller streams and wetlands that connected
them. Because we all know what happens upstream likely has huge impacts downstream.
And guess what—the Clean Water Act worked. Slowly but surely, our waterways were getting
cleaner. But over the last 15 years, a few complex
court cases have tangled up these essential protections, making it unclear what waters
are covered by the Clean Water Act. It's especially confusing when dealing with those smaller,
interconnected streams and wetlands and ponds. That confusion has been a thorn in everyone's
side. It's made it incredibly difficult to safeguard streams and wetlands that we depend
on; that families need for drinking water,
that businesses need to operate, and that farmers need to grow food. There's been
a lot of time and money spent trying to figure out what water body should and shouldn't be
"protected". Should this wetland? Should this pond? It's all unclear under the law now.
But here's the good news. Today, we're taking a commonsense step to fix all of that! We're
issuing a proposal to clear up the confusion and protect all rivers and streams and the
vital wetlands that feed them. The science is clear, and healthy communities
and a healthy economy depend on these waters. In the end, this proposal saves money, cuts
red tape, gives certainty to business and provides clean water to communities across
the country. Lots of people are wondering—should water in my region be protected? Should they
not? Are there specific types of water that you think are important? We're starting a
national conversation on this, and we encourage you to tell us what you think about the proposal,
and make your voices heard! That's how we'll ensure clean water for generations
to come.