EPA Rule Could Protect Vulnerable SC Wetlands

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule Tuesday that would give the federal government authority over millions of acres of wetlands and roughly 2 million miles of streams.

The proposal, which is subject to a 90-day comment period slated to begin in a few weeks, would lead to stricter pollution controls on some of these areas. The plan aims to resolve a long-running legal battle over how to apply the Clean Water Act to the nation’s intermittent and ephemeral streams and wetlands.

“These places are where we get our drinking water, and where we hunt, fish, swim and play,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said as she announced the proposed rule.

In South Carolina, the rule could have impacts since the state is pockmarked with wetlands – including potentially hundreds of thousands of acres of isolated wetlands left vulnerable by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling 13 years ago.

Environmentalists in South Carolina have pushed for state laws to protect isolated wetlands since the ruling, but have been rebuffed by lawmakers worried about the impact on development. Federal statistics show that South Carolina has one of the highest percentages of wetlands in the Southeast. Many of those are isolated wetlands, which can include rare, seasonally flooded Carolina bays that attract an array of wildlife.

The question of which isolated streams and wetlands qualify for federal protection under the Clean Water Act has been in dispute for a decade. The Supreme Court has issued two decisions, and the George W. Bush administration issued guidance in 2003 and 2008 limiting the scope of the act. The Obama administration delayed issuing a rule on the matter during its first term in part because of fierce objections from business interests.

All ephemeral and intermittent streams, and the wetlands that are connected or next to them, will be subject to federal oversight under the proposed rule. The agency is asking for public input on whether to require federal permits for a group of “other waters,” mainly wetlands such as those in the prairie pothole region.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/03/25/3348693/epa-rule-could-protect-vulnerable.html#storylink=cpy