NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN: EPA, Agriculture leaders rally farmers in Wilson County for clean water rule replacement

Top federal officials traveled to the Wilson County fairgrounds outside of Nashville Tuesday to promote the Trump Administration’s proposal to weaken a federal clean water regulation.

Andrew Wheeler, acting administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue called on Tennessee farmers to engage in the contentious debate.

Trump officials want to limit which bodies of water are subject to the Clean Water Act, the 1972 landmark legislation that protects streams, rivers and other bodies of water from uncontrolled development and pollution.

Last week, Wheeler announced a proposal to replace the Obama administration’s 2015 rule defining “Waters of the United States.” Under the new proposal, some streams would no longer fall under federal jurisdiction, for instance, because they only flow during rainstorms (so-called “ephemeral” streams) or are isolated from other waterways.

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Photo Credit: Mike Reicher