EPA, National Aquarium, business leaders stress importance of Clean Water Rule on environment, economy

(BALTIMORE - July 8, 2015) - The E.P.A. joined officials from local boating businesses, brewers and the National Aquarium at the Inner Harbor today to highlight what the Obama Administration's Clean Water Rule means to Maryland's rivers, streams and drinking water.

"It's important that we protect the quality of water in our lakes and rivers by ensuring that the streams and wetlands that feed them are protected," said E.P.A. Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. "We need sufficient clean water for drinking water, recreation and to help our economy flourish with manufacturing, farming, tourism, and other economic sectors."

The Clean Water Rule was enacted to ensure that waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined and predictably determined, making permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry. The rule is grounded in law and the latest science, and is shaped by public input.

Local business representatives echoed EPA's concerns and spoke about how important it is that Maryland drinking water and waterways like the Chesapeake Bay are clean, safe and protected.

People need clean water for their health: about 117 million Americans - one in 3 people - get drinking water from streams that lacked clear protection before the Clean Water Rule. Clean and reliable water is an economic driver, for manufacturing, farming, tourism, recreation, and energy production.

The Clean Water Rule returns protections to streams that feed the drinking water sources for nearly 4 million Marylanders and one in 3 Americans. Millions of acres of wetlands, vital for flood control and filtering pollutants, will also again be shielded under federal law.

More information: www.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule .

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