On Nov. 17, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule that revises the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule under the Clean Water Act, which determines what wetlands and bodies of water qualify for federal protections.
The proposed rule cuts protections for 80% of wetlands and 5 million miles of streams. The rule would effectively decimate wetland and water protections across the country. A recent National Resources Defense Council analysis found that over 800,000 acres of wetlands in North Carolina alone are at risk. This comes after the Republican state legislature passed a law in 2023 that eliminated stronger wetland protections in the state.
In addition to providing countless critical ecosystem services such as water filtration, wildlife habitat and climate change mitigation, wetlands are an essential form of flood prevention. The destruction of North Carolina’s wetlands would mean that we can expect even more severe flooding during the next major storm…