April 17, 2025

Nancy Stoner

Protecting the Waters of the United States

Make no mistake: this move by the EPA is designed to weaken protections, not strengthen them.

I recently joined ELPC to work on protecting the iconic waters of the Great Lakes and the Midwest. I used to run EPA’s Office of Water, which is responsible for establishing clean, safe water protections for rivers, lakes, and coastal waters across the U.S. Let me tell you what’s going on right now and why we need you to take action.

The U.S. EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers recently announced plans to consider whether to further limit the number of wetlands and streams now protected from pollution and destruction under the Clean Water Act. The agencies would change the definition of “Waters of the United States” that are protected by the bedrock law. These waterways are essential to ensuring that Americans have safe, clean, reliable, affordable tap water, economic prosperity, and a healthy environment.

Make no mistake: this move by the EPA is designed to weaken protections, not strengthen them, and 94% of Americans want stronger protections for our waterways, not weaker ones.

These waters have been protected for more than 50 years by the Clean Water Act. Too many streams and wetlands that are essential to public health, safety, and the environment have already lost protection because of the misguided Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision. The EPA’s new review process threatens to strip away even more protections, leaving the vast majority of our waterways vulnerable to pollution.

EPA opened a public comment period that closed on April 23. ELPC gathered nearly 300 comments from everyday people across the Midwest, who told EPA that our waters, including our Great Lakes and the waters that feed into them, deserve protection. We also coordinated with other environmental groups to submit a coalition letter in support of clean water protections.

Read Full Coalition Comments

Signatories included groups across the Great Lakes region:

Abiinooji Aki, Inc
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Conservation Resource Alliance
Environmental Law & Policy Center
For Love of Water (FLOW)
Friends of the Rouge
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Illinois Environmental Council
Just Transition Northwest Indiana
Lake Erie Waterkeeper
Michigan Climate Action Network
Michigan Microplastics Coalition
Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Ohio Environmental Council
Save Our Water (SOH2O)
Save the Dunes
Talking Rivers
The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
Western New York Trout Unlimited
Western Reserve Chapter, Izaak Walton League of America