Dear Administrator Pruitt and Mr. Fisher: On behalf of our nearly 200,000 members, the undersigned science societies respectfully submit the following comments in response to your solicitation regarding the proposed rule, Definition of “Waters of the United States” – Addition of an Applicability Date to 2015 Clean Water Rule, EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0644, published in the Federal Register…
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is seeking reviewers for its first order draft of the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, as indicated in this outline. Wetlands and wetland management are relevant in several places: Volume 1, chapter 1; Volume 4, chapter 7; and Volume 5, chapter 6. Based…
The House Science, Space and Technology’s Subcommittee on the Environment is scheduled to discuss the future of the Waters of the U.S. Rule or “WOTUS” rule. The regulation determines which wetlands and small waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act. The subcommittee will also examine state participation in administering Clean Water Act regulations this…
SWS attended SACNAS 2017 – The National Diversity in STEM Conference – along with its Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (CASS) partners in October.
In June, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the proposed repeal of the 2015 Clean Water Rule in anticipation of replacing it with a narrower definition of “Waters of the U.S.” or “WOTUS.” The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are currently soliciting recommendations for this new definition, the second…
The Honorable Scott Pruitt Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Policy Regulatory Reform Mail Code 1803A 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20460 The Honorable Ryan A. Fisher Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Department of the Army 104 Army Pentagon Washington,…
The Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (CASS) is very concerned with the actions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit three EPA scientists from presenting their research at “The State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed” workshop in Providence, Rhode Island, on 23 October 2017. CASS values scientific freedom and recognizes the importance…
SWS past president Gillian Davies was recently featured in an article outlining the complexities of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Clean Water Rule; “Davies likened wetland tributaries to capillaries in the body. If you introduce a pollutant into a capillary it can reach a vein and affect organ functioning. And just like kidneys,…
The Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (CASS) is very concerned with the actions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit three EPA scientists from presenting their research at “The State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed” workshop in Providence, Rhode Island, on 23 October 2017. CASS values scientific freedom and recognizes the importance of collaboration among scientists…
Science Societies oppose the proposed addition of applicability date to Clean Water Rule
The Honorable Scott Pruitt Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Policy Regulatory Reform Mail Code 1803A 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20460 The Honorable Ryan Fisher Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Department of the Army 104 Army Pentagon Washington, DC…