Jane Rowan, President of the American Water Resources Association(AWRA), posted this item on the AWRA blog.
She begins:
New guidance to determine federal jurisdiction of some “waters of the United States” may lead to a more holistic view of the watershed and justify a National Water Policy.
On June 5, 2007, the Assistant Secretary of the Army and the Assistant Administrator for Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), signed into effect a Memorandum for the Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works (Corps) and EPA Regional Administrators to coordinate on Jurisdictional Determinations (JDs) under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404. This charge to collaboratively document JDs is a result of the Supreme Court decisions made under Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County vs. The US Army Corps of Engineers S 531 U.S. 159 (2001) (‘‘SWANCC’’) and the 2006 Supreme Court consolidated cases Rapanos v. U.S. and Carabell v. U.S. (known as the “Rapanos” decision).
And here's her ending [emboldening mine]:
Our nation must think creatively about implementing a water policy where all governmental agencies – federal, state, and local – apply similar methods to adequately value water resources to wisely manage their use.
Read her entire post - it's good stuff.
"Legislatures respond, they seldom lead." -- Jack Davies, former Minnesota state senator
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