By The New York Times Staff | August 13, 2019 07:19:02 The Trump administration’s effort to roll back environmental protections under the Clean Water Act is “irreversible,” and it threatens to undermine efforts to save the planet from climate change, according to a new report from a group of leading environmental organizations.
The Trump Administration’s “disappointing and devastating” action against the Clean Power Plan would result in hundreds of millions of Americans losing their clean drinking water, and millions of jobs, said The Nature Conservancy and the Union of Concerned Scientists, which released a report on Tuesday.
The report, The Climate Protection Plan: The Trump Adminstration’s Disastrous Policy, comes on the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement that it will take action to rollback the Clean Air Act’s Waters of the United States rule that was signed into law in 2015.
That rule requires state and local governments to limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.
“In the face of these actions, the American people have every reason to expect that environmental protection will continue to be an essential part of our national life,” said Michael Brune, president of The Nature Conservation Trust.
“But the administration is already taking actions to reverse the work and reach a level of protection not seen in generations.”
The Trump climate plan would roll back protections for the most vulnerable communities, the environment and human health.
It would also roll back the Clean Drinking Water Act, the Clean Food and Drug Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
“We know the administration will continue its drive to roll the Clean Waters rule back,” said David Schulte, president and chief executive of The Natural Resources Defense Council.
“The Trump administration has made it clear that it is intent on undoing important protections for people and the planet.
The Clean Waters Rule was the foundation of our nation’s efforts to fight climate change and protect drinking water and clean air.
These are historic and lasting accomplishments.”
The Environmental Protection Administration is now preparing to roll down the Waters of Federal Land rule and rescind a number of other important federal environmental protections, including the Clean and Clean Air Acts, the Waters from Federal Lands Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Bureau of Land Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The new report argues that the administration’s efforts would have a devastating effect on efforts to protect the planet and jobs from climate pollution.
“While President Trump has said he will roll back some of the biggest protections in the Cleanwater rule, his actions have already been devastating,” said Erik Milito, director of climate and energy policy at The Nature Counseling Center.
“His administration has already threatened to reverse dozens of important federal protections, such as the Waters From Federal Lands and the Clean Energy Jobs Act, to the detriment of millions.”
The plan is also opposed by the American Lung Association and the American Water Works Association.
The administration’s actions to roll out its climate change agenda are “in stark contrast to the Trump Administration and its commitment to the rule of law and to protecting the environment,” said the statement from The Nature Advisers.
“Instead of rolling back the climate action plan and taking a national leadership position on climate, the administration has instead chosen to attack environmental protections.”
The new Trump climate policy will likely be finalized in the next few months.
The White House has said it plans to roll up to 50 federal agencies into a single executive branch.
“It’s time for the President to put a stop to the administration of his own administration,” said Brune.
“By repealing the Cleanwaters rule, the Trump campaign has put an end to an important piece of federal environmental law.
This action is simply the latest example of the administration dismantling important federal agencies.”
More From The New Orleans Times-Picayune: A New Orleans man’s dream of becoming a pilot is over, his father says.
He hopes to take flight soon but has to keep a few things in mind, including his new life.
A former student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the 28-year-old son of a U.S. Navy pilot is among several students to be denied flight privileges over concerns of flying into weather conditions that can be dangerous.
“I am an American citizen,” said Joshua W. Satterwhite, who grew up in the French Quarter and now lives in New Orleans.
“The first thing that came to my mind was that I am going to have to take a risk and I’m going to take the risk that I’m not going to be able to do my flight school because of the storm.
I have to make sure that I get a seat that is going to allow me to fly.
It’s a big gamble for me.
Welcoming the news that the president was pulling out of the”
My father is the first American pilot who has ever been denied flight,” he added.
Welcoming the news that the president was pulling out of the