SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Sept. 28 that he and eight other attorneys general submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers opposing the Trump administration’s attempt to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule.
Becerra contends the Clean Water Rule protects the state’s lakes, rivers and streams from pollution. He says the rule uses factual findings and was developed with a science-based approach.
To Becerra, the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act in circumventing this information.
"The Trump administration is attempting to weaken protections for California’s waters,” Becerra said. “Whose interests are they watching out for? I fully support the Clean Water Rule because it was legally promulgated, based on science and will help protect our water resources.
"The stakes are high for California -- if the Clean Water Rule is rolled back, many of our waterways may lose critical protections. The California Department of Justice refuses to stand idly by and let that happen.”
The attorneys general of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia joined Becerra in submitting the comments.