EPA: America's Heartland depends on clean water

Protecting the Heartland's streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA), passed in 1972, helps our communities and is vital to our economy, health, safety and quality of life. During the past 43 years, EPA, the states, and local partners have worked tirelessly to clean up once polluted rivers and streams.

The CWA also protects local rivers and streams -- the Mississippi, Castor, Cape La Croix Creek, Sloan Creek, and Juden Creek's network of tributaries and wetlands, such as the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Big Oak Tree State Park and Ten Mile Pond, which are important to Southeast Missouri's water quality, recreation, wildlife habitat and flood abatement.

The Heartland thrives on clean water, a resource we must both conserve and protect. Agricultural interests, public health officials, recreational small businesses and all the rest of us rely on clean water for our lives and livelihoods.

While we've come a long way and dealt with the biggest issues, work remained. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have worked together to resolve, through a new Clean Water Rule the inconsistencies that existed after two Supreme Court decisions. The CWR rule will help ensure clean waters are available to everyone here in the Heartland. The rule more clearly protects the streams and wetlands that are scientifically shown to have the greatest impact on downstream water quality and form the foundation of the nation's water resources.

One of our most important challenges is protecting those smaller tributaries and wetlands that are part of the vast interconnected system of some of our big rivers, like the Missouri and the Mississippi. Our small waters serve an integral role in ensuring clean water for all Americans and our environment.

We also rely on these smaller wetlands to provide uptake of nutrients, to moderate flow in times of flooding, and to serve as important habitat for species that spawn or rely on bodies of water.

People need clean water for their health: About 117 million Americans -- one in three people -- get drinking water from streams that lacked clear protection before the rule. Clean and reliable water is an economic driver, including for agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, recreation and energy production. Farms across America's Heartland depend on water for livestock, crops and irrigation.

Finally, we all rely on the healthy ecosystems in these upstream waters to provide us natural places to fish, boat, swim and enjoy the outdoors. When hunters and anglers enjoy pristine places, fishing rod makers and boat builders enjoy more business. And, of course, when drinking water sources are cleaner, people are healthier. We all win!

In developing the rule, we held more than 400 meetings with stakeholders across the country and reviewed more than a million public comments. We held numerous roundtables and meetings with the agricultural, business and environmental communities in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

The agricultural community and other stakeholders provided valuable input that shaped the final rule. This input and the latest science led us to provide more clarity regarding tributaries, which are being protected under the CWA. A tributary must show physical features of flowing water -- a bed, bank, and ordinary high water mark -- to warrant protection.

The rule clarifies the definition of ditches. Ditches that are not constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains are not covered.

We listened to the public and made changes to the final rule as part of our commitment to getting it right. The Clean Water Rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Visit www.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule to learn more about the final rule and the CWA.

Mark Hague serves as the Acting Regional Administrator for EPA Region 7, which consists of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and nine tribal nations. He is a resident of Kansas City, Mo.