All Wet: Details Vauge On New EPA Water Rules
Oklahomans fear change in water regulation
By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
While much attention has been focused on the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to control greenhouse gases — the so-called “war on coal” — some Oklahomans are at least as concerned about a proposed EPA rule concerning water.
The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have proposed a clarification of what is known as the Waters of the United States rule. The rule essentially defines which waters are subject to Clean Water Act regulations and which are not.
The rule change would not impose stricter water quality standards, but opponents say it could broaden the application of existing regulations to include “the water that drips off your hat in a rain storm,” as Third District Congressman Frank Lucas put it.
That, say business and agriculture interests, would have enormous consequences for them and just about every property owner in the country. They object to language that would include streams with seasonal or intermittent flows among waters subject to Clean Water Act regulation.