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112-621: The Clean Water Rule is a 2015 regulation published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to clarify water resource management in the United States under a provision of the Clean Water Act of 1972 . The regulation defined the scope of federal water protection in a more consistent manner, particularly over streams and wetlands which have

224-622: A Colorado mine, and accidentally released over three million gallons of waste water into Cement Creek and the Animas River . In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization , cited research linking glyphosate , an ingredient of the weed killer Roundup manufactured by the chemical company Monsanto , to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma . In March 2017,

336-591: A 15-year cut of 32%, or 789 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. In 2019 it was voided and replaced by the Affordable Clean Energy rule under the Trump administration, and in 2022 its constitutionality was ruled out by the Supreme Court. In August 2015, the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill occurred when EPA contractors examined the level of pollutants such as lead and arsenic in

448-516: A bed, bank, and ordinary high water mark – to warrant protection. The rule provides protection for headwaters that have these features and have a significant connection to downstream waters. Adjacent waters are defined by three qualifying circumstances established by the rule. These can include wetlands, ponds, impoundments, and lakes which can impact the chemical, biological or physical integrity of neighboring waters. All existing exclusions from longstanding agency practices are officially established for

560-456: A case-by-case basis. This contributed to an uptick in lawsuits for the next 8 years challenging the EPA's regulatory authority over streams and wetlands. Seeking to reduce confusion and to restore the original scope of WOTUS to pre-SWANCC levels, repeated unsuccessful attempts were made to pass a bill called the "Clean Water Authority Restoration Act" in each Congress from 2002 to 2010. In April 2011,

672-454: A drainage basin, and there are different ways to interpret that data. In the unlikely event that the gauges are many and evenly distributed over an area of uniform precipitation, using the arithmetic mean method will give good results. In the Thiessen polygon method, the drainage basin is divided into polygons with the rain gauge in the middle of each polygon assumed to be representative for

784-540: A drainage boundary is referred to as watershed delineation . Finding the area and extent of a drainage basin is an important step in many areas of science and engineering. Most of the water that discharges from the basin outlet originated as precipitation falling on the basin. A portion of the water that enters the groundwater system beneath the drainage basin may flow towards the outlet of another drainage basin because groundwater flow directions do not always match those of their overlying drainage network. Measurement of

896-502: A dramatic move to the right, President Ronald Reagan in 1981 appointed Anne Gorsuch as EPA administrator. Gorsuch based her administration of EPA on the New Federalism approach of downsizing federal agencies by delegating their functions and services to the individual states. She believed that EPA was over-regulating business and that the agency was too large and not cost-effective. During her 22 months as agency head, she cut

1008-572: A formal proposed rule on April 21, 2014. On May 27, 2015, after a public comment period and numerous meetings with state entities, public and private stakeholders, then-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy along with Assistant Army Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy signed the Clean Water Rule, set to become effective in August of that year. EPA had stated that the 2015 rule created no additional burden for stakeholders working in agriculture since there

1120-620: A joint House–Senate colloquium was convened by the chairmen of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Senator Henry M. Jackson , and the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Representative George P. Miller , to discuss the need for and means of implementing a national environmental policy. Congress enacted the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the law

1232-548: A national outcry and criminal charges against major steel companies. The US Justice Department in late 1970 began pollution control litigation in cooperation with the new EPA. Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, better known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA established a national framework for addressing water quality, including mandatory pollution control standards, to be implemented by

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1344-426: A point where surface water is lost underground . Drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units , which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system . Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks. In a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. About 48.71% of

1456-549: A preliminary injunction in 2015, hours before the rule was to take effect, blocking regulation in those states. In a separate case, the Sixth Circuit Court temporarily halted implementation of the 2015 Rule by issuing a nationwide stay on October 9, 2015, which was the day before the rule was supposed to come into effect. The Sixth Circuit's decision was overturned on January 22, 2018 when the Supreme Court of

1568-511: A public record, making it controversial and difficult to rescind. So they did not open it; rather, they called Johnson and asked him to take back the draft. Johnson rescinded the draft; in July 2008, he issued a new version which did not state that global warming was danger to public welfare. Burnett resigned in protest. In April 2008, the Union of Concerned Scientists said that more than half of

1680-591: A second term. As a condition for accepting his appointment, Ruckleshaus obtained autonomy from the White House in appointing his senior management team. He then appointed experienced competent professionals to the top management positions, and worked to restore public confidence in the agency. Lee M. Thomas succeeded Ruckelshaus as administrator in 1985. In 1986 Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act , which authorized

1792-708: A senior official at the Environmental Protection Agency had worked to quash a review of Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, that was to have been conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services ." The records show that Monsanto was able to prepare "a public relations assault" on the finding after they were alerted to the determination by Jess Rowland , the head of the EPA's cancer assessment review committee at that time, months in advance. Emails also showed that Rowland "had promised to beat back an effort by

1904-618: A significant hydrological and ecological connection to traditional navigable waters, interstate waters, and territorial seas. It is also referred to as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which defines all bodies of water that fall under U.S. federal jurisdiction. The rule was published in response to concerns about lack of clarity over the act's scope from legislators at multiple levels, industry members, researchers and other science professionals, activists, and citizens. The rule

2016-580: A total of fourteen states had joined the suit—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA regulations violated the Clean Air Act. In response, EPA announced plans to propose such standards to replace the vacated Clean Air Mercury Rule, and did so on March 16, 2011. In July 2005 there was a delay in the issuance of an EPA report showing that auto companies were using loopholes to produce less fuel-efficient cars. The report

2128-528: Is frequently perceived on the political right as a burden on economic growth and an infringement of landowner rights. The Clean Water Rule was part of a larger mobilization by the Obama administration to ingrain the presidency with an environmental legacy, which Republicans have viewed as an “over-reach” of executive power. The pushback against the Clean Water Rule also include some Democrats from "farm and energy states". Some state and local governments also consider

2240-487: Is referred to as " watershed management ". In Brazil , the National Policy of Water Resources, regulated by Act n° 9.433 of 1997, establishes the drainage basin as the territorial division of Brazilian water management. When a river basin crosses at least one political border, either a border within a nation or an international boundary, it is identified as a transboundary river . Management of such basins becomes

2352-614: Is the Dead Sea . Drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important. For example, the English crown gave the Hudson's Bay Company a monopoly on the fur trade in the entire Hudson Bay basin, an area called Rupert's Land . Bioregional political organization today includes agreements of states (e.g., international treaties and, within

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2464-705: Is the primary federal law regulating water pollution in the United States. The language of the Clean Water Act describes itself as pertaining to "Waters of the United States". The act defines these waters as "navigable waterways", which connects the act to constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce. Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, in 2001 and 2006, interpreted the law to include waters not presently navigable that were formerly navigable that might be readily dredged to be restored to navigation or be made available for navigation. The scope of these decisions cast into doubt lower court decisions interpreting

2576-404: Is used only in its original sense, that of the drainage divide line. A drainage basin's boundaries are determined by watershed delineation , a common task in environmental engineering and science. In a closed drainage basin, or endorheic basin , rather than flowing to the ocean, water converges toward the interior of the basin, known as a sink , which may be a permanent lake, a dry lake , or

2688-713: The African Great Lakes , the interiors of Australia and the Arabian Peninsula , and parts in Mexico and the Andes . Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, adjacent closed basins. In endorheic bodies of water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this

2800-765: The Continental Divide , northern Alaska and parts of North Dakota , South Dakota , Minnesota , and Montana in the United States, the north shore of the Scandinavian peninsula in Europe, central and northern Russia, and parts of Kazakhstan and Mongolia in Asia , which totals to about 17% of the world's land. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean . Its basin includes much of China, eastern and southeastern Russia, Japan,

2912-524: The Council on Environmental Quality and Atomic Energy Commission . Upon its creation, EPA inherited 84 sites spread across 26 states, of which 42 sites were laboratories. The EPA consolidated these laboratories into 22 sites. In its first year, the EPA had a budget of $ 1.4 billion and 5,800 employees. At its start, the EPA was primarily a technical assistance agency that set goals and standards. Soon, new acts and amendments passed by Congress gave

3024-714: The Korean Peninsula , most of Indochina, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines, all of the Pacific Islands , the northeast coast of Australia , and Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide (including most of Alaska), as well as western Central America and South America west of the Andes. The Indian Ocean 's drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earth's land. It drains

3136-678: The United States District Court for the District of Arizona threw out the 2020 replacement rule in Pasqua Yaqui Tribe et al v. EPA. The court stated that EPA made serious procedural errors in its issuance of the 2020 rule and that implementation of the rule would lead to "serious environmental harm." In June 2021 the administration of President Joe Biden described "significant environmental degradation" from hundreds of recently-initiated development projects that were not subject to regulatory approval because of

3248-492: The federally recognized tribes . The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. The agency's budgeted employee level in 2023 is 16,204.1 full-time equivalent (FTE). More than half of EPA's employees are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists; other employees include legal, public affairs, financial, and information technologists. Beginning in

3360-506: The 2009 through 2016 model years. Following notice of violations and potential criminal sanctions, Volkswagen later agreed to a legal settlement and paid billions of US dollars in criminal penalties, and was required to initiate a vehicle buyback program and modify the engines of the vehicles to reduce illegal air emissions. In August 2015, the EPA finalized the Clean Power Plan to regulate emissions from power plants, projecting

3472-516: The 2015 WOTUS regulation and announced plans to issue a new version later in 2018. Fifteen states, two cities and several environmental organizations have challenged EPA's suspension in several lawsuits. EPA and USACE published a proposed rule on February 14, 2019 that would revise the WOTUS definition. The Trump administration formally announced that the WOTUS rule had been repealed on September 12, 2019, to take effect within weeks. A replacement rule for

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3584-450: The 2019 repeal. In an announcement EPA said it planned initiate a new rulemaking to reverse the 2019/2020 rule and restore the 2015 regulation widening the scope of federal jurisdiction over waterways. USACE and EPA published a new definition of WOTUS, returning to the definition in the pre-2015 regulations, on January 18, 2023. The rule took effect on March 20, 2023. However, on May 25, 2023, the restored policy would again be rolled back after

3696-595: The Clean Water Rule an unconstitutional over-reach violating federalism principles and due process provisions outlined in the 10th and 14th amendments respectively. Legal objections could also be raised on the principle that the Clean Water Act itself violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. On February 22, 2017, the Business Roundtable provided a list of federal regulations to

3808-405: The Clean Water Rule was issued by the Trump administration on January 23, 2020 (published April 21, 2020), which further rolled back protection on certain wetlands and streams and eliminated requirements for landowners to get EPA approval for certain modification of their own lands. The Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups sued to block the new rule. On August 30, 2021,

3920-501: The Department of Health and Human Services to conduct its own review." On February 17, 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator. The Democratic Party saw the appointment as a controversial move, as Pruitt had spent most of his career challenging environmental regulations and policies. He did not have previous experience in the environmental protection field and had received financial support from

4032-575: The EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its administrator , who is appointed by the president and approved by the Senate . The current administrator is Michael S. Regan . The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but the administrator is normally given cabinet rank . The EPA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. There are regional offices for each of

4144-527: The EPA to gather data on toxic chemicals and share this information with the public. EPA also researched the implications of stratospheric ozone depletion. Under Administrator Thomas, EPA joined with several international organizations to perform a risk assessment of stratospheric ozone, which helped provide motivation for the Montreal Protocol, which was agreed to in August 1987. In 1988, during his first presidential campaign, George H. W. Bush

4256-501: The EPA was working on its own standards, but the move has been widely considered an attempt to shield the auto industry from environmental regulation by setting lower standards at the federal level, which would then preempt state laws. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger , along with governors from 13 other states, stated that the EPA's actions ignored federal law, and that existing California standards (adopted by many states in addition to California) were almost twice as effective as

4368-680: The EPA water chief, David Ross , represented the state of Wyoming in 2015 in a lawsuit against EPA's interpretation of WOTUS. On February 16, 2017 Trump signed a law disapproving and vacating the Stream Protection Rule . The rule, published by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on December 20, 2016 with just 31 days left in the Obama Administration's term of office, regulated mountaintop removal mining sites. In January 2018 EPA formally suspended

4480-579: The EPA, under the Barack Obama administration , proposed a new set of guidelines to replace the two issued under the Bush administration. These guidelines formed the basis of what became the Clean Water Rule. In contrast to the manner in which the 2003 and 2007 guidelines were issued, the EPA and the USACE conducted peer-reviewed hydrological studies, interagency reviews, and economic analyses before publishing

4592-448: The EPA. The EPA's inspector general had determined that the EPA's regulation of mercury emissions did not follow the Clean Air Act, and that the regulations were influenced by top political appointees. The EPA had suppressed a study it commissioned by Harvard University which contradicted its position on mercury controls. The suit alleged that the EPA's rule exempting coal-fired power plants from "maximum available control technology"

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4704-604: The Federal Water Quality Administration, which had previously been transferred from PHS to the Department of the Interior in 1966. A few functions from other agencies were also incorporated into EPA: the formerly independent Federal Radiation Council was merged into it; pesticides programs were transferred from the Department of the Interior, Food and Drug Administration , and Agricultural Research Service ; and some functions were transferred from

4816-500: The Trump administration attempted to revoke a waiver issued to the state which allowed more stringent standards for auto and truck emissions than the federal standards. Drainage basin Other terms for a drainage basin are catchment area , catchment basin , drainage area , river basin , water basin , and impluvium . In North America, they are commonly called a watershed , though in other English-speaking places, "watershed"

4928-405: The Trump administration which it wished to have reviewed for repeal or major reform; the Clean Water Rule was among the "wishlist" of sixteen. The roundtable is a consortium of large corporations including J.P. Morgan Chase , Honeywell , Lockheed Martin , and Dow Chemical Company . After thirteen states sued to block the rule, U.S. Chief District Judge for North Dakota Ralph R. Erickson issued

5040-520: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA cannot regulate waters in the United States which have been isolated from larger bodies of water. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order . The order establishing

5152-542: The US population. The law required EPA to enforce the standards with the cooperation of state agencies. In October 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which, like FIFRA, related to the manufacture, labeling and usage of commercial products rather than pollution. This act gave the EPA the authority to gather information on chemicals and require producers to test them, gave it

5264-575: The US, interstate compacts ) or other political entities in a particular drainage basin to manage the body or bodies of water into which it drains. Examples of such interstate compacts are the Great Lakes Commission and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency . In hydrology , the drainage basin is a logical unit of focus for studying the movement of water within the hydrological cycle . The process of finding

5376-469: The United States issued a unanimous decision that the appeals courts do not have original jurisdiction to review challenges to the Clean Water Act and, therefore, lack the authority to issue a stay. Rather, challenges to the 2015 Rule must be filed in United States district courts . Donald Trump , as part of his 2016 presidential campaign had set a goal of repealing or weakening the WOTUS rule, and once in office, began to act on that pledge, stating that

5488-724: The ability to regulate chemical production and use (with specific mention of PCBs ), and required the agency to create the National Inventory listing of chemicals. Congress also enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976, significantly amending the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965 . It tasked the EPA with setting national goals for waste disposal, conserving energy and natural resources, reducing waste, and ensuring environmentally sound management of waste. Accordingly,

5600-461: The act's authority to extend regulatory authority to streams, wetlands, and small bodies of water not navigable in the sense of the interstate commerce clause. These decisions highlighted a need for the EPA and USACE to more precisely define and justify an implicit regulatory authority over tributaries flowing into the navigable waterways for which a clear statutory authority is provided. The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), Illinois,

5712-483: The act. The rule intends to make it is easier to predict what action(s) will be taken by the EPA and what processes companies and other stakeholders may have to undergo for projects and permitting. There are no direct changes to the law under the Clean Water Rule. After analysis, the EPA and Department of the Army found that higher instance of water coverage would produce a 2:1 ratio of benefits to costs in implementation after

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5824-399: The agency developed regulations for solid and hazardous waste that were to be implemented in collaboration with states. President Jimmy Carter appointed Douglas M. Costle as EPA administrator in 1977. To manage the agency's expanding legal mandates and workload, by the end of 1979 the budget grew to $ 5.4 billion and the workforce size increased to 13,000. In 1980, following

5936-613: The agency in partnership with the states. Congress amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1972, requiring EPA to measure every pesticide's risks against its potential benefits. In 1973 President Nixon appointed Russell E. Train , to be the next EPA Administrator. In 1974 Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act , requiring EPA to develop mandatory federal standards for all public water systems , which serve 90% of

6048-565: The agency its regulatory authority. A major expansion of the Clean Air Act was approved in December 1970. EPA staff recall that in the early days there was "an enormous sense of purpose and excitement" and the expectation that "there was this agency which was going to do something about a problem that clearly was on the minds of a lot of people in this country," leading to tens of thousands of resumes from those eager to participate in

6160-638: The agency's Scientific Integrity Official, Francesca Grifo , from testifying at a House committee hearing. EPA offered to send a different representative in place of Grifo and accused the committee of "dictating to the agency who they believe was qualified to speak." The hearing was to discuss the importance of allowing federal scientists and other employees to speak freely when and to whom they want to about their research without having to worry about any political consequences. In September 2019 air pollution standards in California were once again under attack, as

6272-489: The agency's ten regions, as well as 27 laboratories around the country. The agency conducts environmental assessment , research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws , in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions , and other measures. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and

6384-699: The agency. Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle was fired by Reagan in February 1983 because of her mismanagement of the Superfund program. Gorsuch had increasing confrontations with Congress over Superfund and other programs, including her refusal to submit subpoenaed documents. Gorsuch was cited for contempt of Congress and the White House directed EPA to submit the documents to Congress. Gorsuch and most of her senior staff resigned in March 1983. Reagan then appointed William Ruckelshaus as EPA Administrator for

6496-406: The basin, it can form tributaries that change the structure of the land. There are three different main types, which are affected by the rocks and ground underneath. Rock that is quick to erode forms dendritic patterns, and these are seen most often. The two other types of patterns that form are trellis patterns and rectangular patterns. Rain gauge data is used to measure total precipitation over

6608-419: The budget of the EPA by 22%, reduced the number of cases filed against polluters, relaxed Clean Air Act regulations, and facilitated the spraying of restricted-use pesticides. She cut the total number of agency employees, and hired staff from the industries they were supposed to be regulating. Environmentalists contended that her policies were designed to placate polluters, and accused her of trying to dismantle

6720-459: The censorship of environmental reports . President Obama appointed Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator in 2013. In 2014, the EPA published its "Tier 3" standards for cars, trucks and other motor vehicles, which tightened air pollution emission requirements and lowered the sulfur content in gasoline. In 2015, the EPA discovered extensive violations by Volkswagen Group in its manufacture of Volkswagen and Audi diesel engine cars, for

6832-403: The combination of pesticide programs from the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of the Interior . After conducting hearings during that summer, the House and Senate approved the proposal. The EPA was created 90 days before it had to operate, and officially opened its doors on December 2, 1970. The agency's first administrator, William Ruckelshaus , took

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6944-430: The discharge of water from a basin may be made by a stream gauge located at the basin's outlet. Depending on the conditions of the drainage basin, as rainfall occurs some of it seeps directly into the ground. This water will either remain underground, slowly making its way downhill and eventually reaching the basin, or it will permeate deeper into the soil and consolidate into groundwater aquifers. As water flows through

7056-498: The discovery of many abandoned or mismanaged hazardous waste sites such as Love Canal , Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act , nicknamed "Superfund." The new law authorized EPA to cast a wider net for parties responsible for sites contaminated by previous hazardous waste disposal and established a funding mechanism for assessment and cleanup. In

7168-441: The drainage area is dependent on the soil type. Certain soil types such as sandy soils are very free-draining, and rainfall on sandy soil is likely to be absorbed by the ground. However, soils containing clay can be almost impermeable and therefore rainfall on clay soils will run off and contribute to flood volumes. After prolonged rainfall even free-draining soils can become saturated , meaning that any further rainfall will reach

7280-697: The drainage basin to the mouth, and may accumulate there, disturbing the natural mineral balance. This can cause eutrophication where plant growth is accelerated by the additional material. Because drainage basins are coherent entities in a hydrological sense, it has become common to manage water resources on the basis of individual basins. In the U.S. state of Minnesota , governmental entities that perform this function are called " watershed districts ". In New Zealand, they are called catchment boards. Comparable community groups based in Ontario, Canada, are called conservation authorities . In North America, this function

7392-857: The eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf , the Indian subcontinent , Burma, and most parts of Australia . The five largest river basins (by area), from largest to smallest, are those of the Amazon (7 million km ), the Congo (4 million km ), the Nile (3.4 million km ), the Mississippi (3.22 million km ), and the Río de la Plata (3.17 million km ). The three rivers that drain

7504-420: The environment. The "detailed statement" would ultimately be referred to as an environmental impact statement (EIS). On July 9, 1970, Nixon proposed an executive reorganization that consolidated many environmental responsibilities of the federal government under one agency, a new Environmental Protection Agency. This proposal included merging pollution control programs from a number of departments, such as

7616-463: The final rule. Implementation of the rule will discern any implications for environmental justice communities, though it is clear that "meaningful involvement from minority, low-income, and indigenous populations, as well as other stakeholders, has been a cornerstone of development of the final rule." Specific details that have been clarified by the rule are outlined below. A tributary, or upstream water, must show physical features of flowing water –

7728-475: The first time. Waters used in normal agricultural, ranching, or silvicultural activities, as well as certain defined ditches, prior converted cropland, and waste treatment systems continue to be excluded. Before the rule, almost any water could be put through an analysis that remained case-specific, even if it would not be covered under CWA. The rule limits use of case-specific analysis by providing certainty and clarity of protected vs non-protected water. Ultimately

7840-548: The fossil fuel industry. In 2017, the Presidency of Donald Trump proposed a 31% cut to the EPA's budget to $ 5.7 billion from $ 8.1 billion and to eliminate a quarter of the agency jobs. However, this cut was not approved by Congress. Pruitt resigned from the position on July 5, 2018, citing "unrelenting attacks" due to ongoing ethics controversies. President Trump appointed Andrew R. Wheeler as EPA Administrator in 2019. On July 17, 2019, EPA management prohibited

7952-412: The greatest portion of western Sub-Saharan Africa , as well as Western Sahara and part of Morocco . The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic. The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U.S. interior between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains , a small part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan , eastern Central America ,

8064-435: The ground and along rivers it can pick up nutrients , sediment , and pollutants . With the water, they are transported towards the outlet of the basin, and can affect the ecological processes along the way as well as in the receiving water body . Modern use of artificial fertilizers , containing nitrogen (as nitrates ), phosphorus , and potassium , has affected the mouths of drainage basins. The minerals are carried by

8176-781: The ground at its terminus, the area can go by several names, such playa, salt flat, dry lake , or alkali sink . The largest endorheic basins are in Central Asia , including the Caspian Sea , the Aral Sea , and numerous smaller lakes. Other endorheic regions include the Great Basin in the United States, much of the Sahara Desert , the drainage basin of the Okavango River ( Kalahari Basin ), highlands near

8288-639: The islands of the Caribbean and the Gulf, and a small part of northern South America. The Mediterranean Sea basin, with the Black Sea , includes much of North Africa , east-central Africa (through the Nile River ), Southern , Central, and Eastern Europe , Turkey , and the coastal areas of Israel , Lebanon , and Syria . The Arctic Ocean drains most of Western Canada and Northern Canada east of

8400-621: The late 1950s and through the 1960s, Congress reacted to increasing public concern about the impact that human activity could have on the environment. Senator James E. Murray introduced a bill, the Resources and Conservation Act (RCA) of 1959, in the 86th Congress . The bill would have established a Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President , declared a national environmental policy, and required

8512-582: The limit of the federal authority to regulate wetlands. The resulting ambiguity became a part of the stated rationale for EPA rulemaking activity that resulted in the 2015 Waters of the United States rule. Following the SWANCC ruling, the EPA (then under the George W. Bush administration ) issued guidelines in 2003 restricting regulatory review of some 20 million acres of isolated wetlands and gave advance notice of proposed rulemaking which would substantially narrow

8624-511: The mighty effort to clean up America's environment. When EPA first began operation, members of the private sector felt strongly that the environmental protection movement was a passing fad. Ruckelshaus stated that he felt pressure to show a public which was deeply skeptical about government's effectiveness, that EPA could respond effectively to widespread concerns about pollution. The burning Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969 led to

8736-514: The most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganges , and Congo rivers. Endorheic basin are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Endorheic basins cover around 18% of the Earth's land. Some endorheic basins drain to an Endorheic lake or Inland sea . Many of these lakes are ephemeral or vary dramatically in size depending on climate and inflow. If water evaporates or infiltrates into

8848-629: The nation's streams and rivers do not meet standards and most pollution issues come from nonpoint sources , such as agricultural runoff . Many people, 117 million according to EPA, rely on drinking water, in addition to many others who subside on fishing, from sources protected under the implementation of the rule. Low-income communities and communities of color are more often at risk of being affected by pollution. It has also been evidenced that, "states conduct fewer regulatory enforcement actions in counties with higher levels of poverty." The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water expressed, in its comment on

8960-478: The nearest navigable waters that his environmental consultant had classified as wetlands without a permit from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Rapanos v. United States resulted in a 2006 Supreme Court decision with five justices concurring to vacate rulings against the defendants, but issuing three distinctly differing opinions leaving uncertain which of the described tests defined

9072-504: The nearly 1,600 EPA staff scientists who responded online to a detailed questionnaire reported they had experienced incidents of political interference in their work. The survey included chemists, toxicologists, engineers, geologists and experts in other fields of science. About 40% of the scientists reported that the interference had been more prevalent in the last five years than in previous years. President Barack Obama appointed Lisa P. Jackson as EPA administrator in 2009. In 2010 it

9184-846: The number of waste sites that are remediated in a given year. (In 2021 Congress reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers. ) Major legislative updates during the Clinton Administration were the Food Quality Protection Act and the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. President George W. Bush appointed Christine Todd Whitman as EPA administrator in 2001. Whitman was succeeded by Mike Leavitt in 2003 and Stephen L. Johnson in 2005. In March 2005 nine states (California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico and Vermont) sued

9296-610: The oath of office on December 4, 1970. EPA's primary predecessor was the former Environmental Health Divisions of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS), and its creation caused one of a series of reorganizations of PHS that occurred during 1966–1973. From PHS, EPA absorbed the entire National Air Pollution Control Administration, as well as the Environmental Control Administration's Bureau of Solid Waste Management, Bureau of Water Hygiene, and part of its Bureau of Radiological Health. It also absorbed

9408-567: The passage of the Superfund law in 1980, an excise tax had been levied on the chemical and petroleum industries, to support the cleanup trust fund. Congressional authorization of the tax was due to expire in 1995. Although Browner and the Clinton Administration supported continuation of the tax, Congress declined to reauthorize it. Subsequently, the Superfund program was supported only by annual appropriations, greatly reducing

9520-417: The preparation of an annual environmental report. The conservation movement was weak at the time and the bill did not pass Congress. The 1962 publication of Silent Spring , a best-selling book by Rachel Carson , alerted the public about the detrimental effects on animals and humans of the indiscriminate use of pesticide chemicals. In the years following, Congress discussed possible solutions. In 1968,

9632-419: The presiding judge in a litigation brought about by people who claim to have developed glyphosate-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma opened Monsanto emails and other documents related to the case, including email exchanges between the company and federal regulators. According to The New York Times , the "records suggested that Monsanto had ghostwritten research that was later attributed to academics and indicated that

9744-442: The proposed federal standards. It was reported that Johnson ignored his own staff in making this decision. In 2007 it was reported that EPA research was suppressed by career managers. Supervisors at EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment required several paragraphs to be deleted from a peer-reviewed journal article about EPA's integrated risk information system , which led two co-authors to have their names removed from

9856-419: The public welfare—a decision that would trigger the first national mandatory global-warming regulations. Associate Deputy Administrator Jason Burnett e-mailed the draft to the White House. White House aides—who had long resisted mandatory regulations as a way to address climate change—knew the gist of what Johnson's finding would be, Burnett said. They also knew that once they opened the attachment, it would become

9968-414: The publication, and the corresponding author, Ching-Hung Hsu, to leave EPA "because of the draconian restrictions placed on publishing". The 2007 report stated that EPA subjected employees who author scientific papers to prior restraint , even if those papers are written on personal time. In December 2007 EPA administrator Johnson approved a draft of a document that declared that climate change imperiled

10080-418: The rainfall on the area of land included in its polygon. These polygons are made by drawing lines between gauges, then making perpendicular bisectors of those lines form the polygons. The isohyetal method involves contours of equal precipitation are drawn over the gauges on a map. Calculating the area between these curves and adding up the volume of water is time-consuming. Isochrone maps can be used to show

10192-631: The responsibility of the countries sharing it. Nile Basin Initiative , OMVS for Senegal River , Mekong River Commission are a few examples of arrangements involving management of shared river basins. Management of shared drainage basins is also seen as a way to build lasting peaceful relationships among countries. The catchment is the most significant factor determining the amount or likelihood of flooding . Catchment factors are: topography , shape, size, soil type, and land use (paved or roofed areas). Catchment topography and shape determine

10304-461: The river rather than being absorbed by the ground. If the surface is impermeable the precipitation will create surface run-off which will lead to higher risk of flooding; if the ground is permeable, the precipitation will infiltrate the soil. Land use can contribute to the volume of water reaching the river, in a similar way to clay soils. For example, rainfall on roofs, pavements , and roads will be collected by rivers with almost no absorption into

10416-500: The rule saves time and avoids further evaluation and the need to take the case to court. Specific watersheds have been shown to impact downstream water health. The rule protects Texas coastal prairie wetlands, coastal depressions called Carolina Bays and the related seasonal Delmarva bays, western vernal pools in California , pocosins , and other prairie potholes , when impacting downstream waterways. The Clean Water Act

10528-399: The rule until February 6, 2020. The Trump administration formally repealed the WOTUS rule on September 12, 2019 and published a replacement rule on April 21, 2020. On August 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona threw out the 2020 replacement rule. USACE and EPA published a revised definition of WOTUS on January 18, 2023, restoring the pre-2015 regulations on

10640-416: The rule was a "massive power grab" by the government on farmers, home owners, and land commissioners, stalling economic growth. On February 28, 2017 Trump signed an executive order directing EPA to review the Clean Water Rule for conflicts with his economic growth agenda. On March 6, 2017 the Trump administration announced its intent to review and rescind or revise the rule. The Trump administration's choice for

10752-418: The rule, the need to "strengthen the categorical protections" to wetlands, to minimize flooding and support pollution remediation. While there are no direct implications for indigenous peoples , tribal communities were consulted during the process of finalizing the Clean Water Rule. A separate, revised interpretive rule to the Clean Water Act, section 518, determined tribal lands should be treated as states and

10864-424: The scope of WOTUS and weaken CWA protections. After strong opposition from Congress the planned legislation was abandoned, to the relief of environmental advocates and disappointment of land development groups who sought a reduction in federal wetlands protection. The lack of a majority opinion in the 2006 Rapanos case prompted a second set of EPA guidelines directing the agency to determine wetlands protection on

10976-663: The scope of federal jurisdiction over waterways, effective March 20, 2023. On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that only wetlands and permanent bodies of water with a "continuous surface connection" to "traditional interstate navigable waters" are covered by the Clean Water Act, narrowing the application of the Clean Water Rule. The 2015 rule ensures that Clean Water Act (CWA) programs are more precisely defined and intends to save time and avoid costs and confusion in future implementation of

11088-418: The speed with which the runoff reaches a river. A long thin catchment will take longer to drain than a circular catchment. Size will help determine the amount of water reaching the river, as the larger the catchment the greater the potential for flooding. It is also determined on the basis of length and width of the drainage basin. Soil type will help determine how much water reaches the river. The runoff from

11200-415: The time taken for rain to reach the river, while catchment size, soil type, and development determine the amount of water to reach the river. Generally, topography plays a big part in how fast runoff will reach a river. Rain that falls in steep mountainous areas will reach the primary river in the drainage basin faster than flat or lightly sloping areas (e.g., > 1% gradient). Shape will contribute to

11312-477: The time taken for runoff water within a drainage basin to reach a lake, reservoir or outlet, assuming constant and uniform effective rainfall. Drainage basins are the principal hydrologic unit considered in fluvial geomorphology . A drainage basin is the source for water and sediment that moves from higher elevation through the river system to lower elevations as they reshape the channel forms. Drainage basins are important in ecology . As water flows over

11424-729: The world's land drains to the Atlantic Ocean . In North America , surface water drains to the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes basins, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Canadian Maritimes , and most of Newfoundland and Labrador . Nearly all of South America east of the Andes also drains to the Atlantic, as does most of Western and Central Europe and

11536-619: Was based on ideas that had been discussed in the 1959 and subsequent hearings. The Richard Nixon administration made the environment a policy priority in 1969-1971 and created two new agencies, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and EPA. Nixon signed NEPA into law on January 1, 1970. The law established the CEQ in the Executive Office of the President. NEPA required that a detailed statement of environmental impacts be prepared for all major federal actions significantly affecting

11648-479: Was contested in litigation. In 2017 the Trump administration announced its intent to review and rescind or revise the rule. A Supreme Court ruling on January 22, 2018 returned the rule's nationwide authority after the rule was decided to be illegal by a lower court. It gave back jurisdiction previously complicated by decisions from the circuit courts of appeals. Two weeks later, the Trump administration formally suspended

11760-414: Was denied federal permits to develop an old gravel mine site into a landfill because migratory bird ponds had developed in abandoned excavation trenches on the property. The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that the authority granted by CWA did not extend to abandoned gravel pits with seasonal ponds. In 1989, land developer John Rapanos filled twenty-two acres (nine hectares) on his property some 10-20 miles from

11872-500: Was illegal, and additionally charged that the EPA's system of cap-and-trade to lower average mercury levels would allow power plants to forego reducing mercury emissions, which they objected would lead to dangerous local hotspots of mercury contamination even if average levels declined. Several states also began to enact their own mercury emission regulations. Illinois's proposed rule would have reduced mercury emissions from power plants by an average of 90% by 2009. In 2008—by which point

11984-794: Was made effective in May 2016. This amendment is important for giving people living on reservations access to EPA regulation and federal grants; tribes no longer need to "demonstrate inherent authority to regulate" their waters. The regulation at the state level is determined by the strength of federal coverage and some stakeholders consider the rule to be overreach by the government. There is concern from private landowners, including small business owners and farmers, that this "rule will lead to radical environmental groups suing homeowners and small businesses," and, ultimately, "increased regulatory costs, less economic development, fewer jobs." Government regulation and protection of fresh water supplies and watershed health

12096-461: Was no change to the exemptions for activities necessary to forestry, ranching, or farming. The rule provided clearer protection of many waters of the U.S. that, if polluted, could have detrimental effects on drinking water, habitats, and flood-prone areas. One U.S. water news organization stressed that, while the rule was an update to the CWA, there is still a need for more regulation since more than half of

12208-540: Was reflected in the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act and in new approaches by the agency, such as a greater emphasis on watershed -based approaches in Clean Water Act programs. In 1992 EPA and the Department of Energy launched the Energy Star program, a voluntary program that fosters energy efficiency. Carol Browner was appointed EPA administrator by President Bill Clinton and served from 1993 to 2001. Major projects during Browner's term included: Since

12320-442: Was reported that a $ 3 million mapping study on sea level rise was suppressed by EPA management during both the Bush and Obama administrations, and managers changed a key interagency report to reflect the removal of the maps. Between 2011 and 2012, some EPA employees reported difficulty in conducting and reporting the results of studies on hydraulic fracturing due to industry and governmental pressure, and were concerned about

12432-536: Was supposed to be released the day before a controversial energy bill was passed and would have provided backup for those opposed to it, but the EPA delayed its release at the last minute. EPA initiated its voluntary WaterSense program in 2006 to encourage water efficiency through the use of a special label on consumer products. In 2007 the state of California sued the EPA for its refusal to allow California and 16 other states to raise fuel economy standards for new cars. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson claimed that

12544-544: Was vocal about environmental issues. Following his election victory, he appointed William K. Reilly , an environmentalist, as EPA Administrator in 1989. Under Reilly's leadership, the EPA implemented voluntary programs and initiated the development of a "cluster rule" for multimedia regulation of the pulp and paper industry. At the time, there was increasing awareness that some environmental issues were regional or localized in nature, and were more appropriately addressed with sub-national approaches and solutions. This understanding

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