Feds' Charleston Listening Stop Draws Strong Reactions on Water Rule Rollback Plan

Feds' Charleston listening stop draws strong reactions on water rule rollback plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of the Army got pointed feedback from private citizens, environmental advocates and industry representatives at a listening stop in Charleston Wednesday on their plan to weaken a water protection rule. The feds plan to roll back the "Waters of the United States" rule, known as WOTUS.

WOTUS: A narrowing EPA definition is reshaping the Clean Water Act

Debra Shankland was a kid when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire in 1969.  “I saw the dead fish, I smelled it,” the retired biologist and environmental educator told a room of US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representatives on Wednesday.  Shankland was one of many speakers at the latest listening session led by the EPA as the agency crafts a new definition for the long controversial language “waters of the United States” contained …