To call the policy moves that the Trump administration has taken since coming to power controversial would be a gross understatement.
The president’s team has slashed regulations left and right, leaving corporations in control and the future of the environment in jeopardy. For instance, the administration has moved to repeal the Clean Power Plan, although the exact future of that rule could still be considered as in question.
One of the other moves they’ve taken to that effect is their refusal to allow the Waters of the United States rule to actually go into effect, with the EPA having formally delayed the rule’s implementation just this week.
The rule — if it was allowed to go into effect — would formally establish government regulatory control over small waterways, creating what industry interests allege is an excessive burden of compliance.
Although the Trump administration is willing to cave to industry interests, other political leaders are not. In that light, the often in the news New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has now announced that — as he’s done in the case of other controversial policy moves undertaken by the administration — he will lead a lawsuit to attempt to block the EPA’s delay of the implementation of the rule in question.
#BREAKING: I will lead a multistate lawsuit to block the Trump Administration’s reckless and illegal suspension of the #CleanWaterRule. https://t.co/DyGJHSwuBF pic.twitter.com/Tbd0nZrzUU
— Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) February 1, 2018
The rule, without the EPA’s latest delay, stood to soon go into effect, since a court ruled against a past hold placed on its implementation.
Schneiderman wants to attempt to ensure that the rule does, in fact, go into effect.
In his press release about the matter, he asserts he will lead a “multistate coalition that will sue to block this rollback in court,” stating:
‘The Trump Administration’s suspension of the Clean Water Rule threatens to eliminate protections for millions of miles of streams and acres of wetlands across the country. Make no mistake: abandoning the Clean Water Rule will mean pollution, flooding, and harm to fish and wildlife in New York and across the country — undermining decades of work to protect and enhance our water resources.’
The Clean Water Rule is another name for the Waters of the United States rule.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who has proven controversial since the announcement of his nomination, has long made his feelings about the rule abundantly clear. He even appeared in a video produced by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association at one point aimed at drumming up public opposition to the WOTUS rule, attracting criticism for using his official position for essentially private political lobbying.
Before taking on his present position, Pruitt served as Oklahoma Attorney General, and in that position he also made his opposition to the Clean Water Rule known, suing the EPA over the measure, among other suits.
It’s not as though Pruitt is a credible, competent force to be reckoned with in any of this.
He claimed at one point that — despite reality to the contrary — there is “tremendous disagreement” about the impact of carbon dioxide emissions on climate change.
Of course, in that respect, he’s just like his boss, who also denies the credibility of the threat of climate change.
Featured Image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images
