BALTIMORE — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aquarium and business leaders recently met to discuss how the Clean Water Rule affects Maryland’s rivers, streams and drinking water, according to a press release.
Boating business and breweries were among those represented at the meeting at the Inner Harbor, noted the release.
“It’s important that we protect the quality of water in our lakes and rivers by ensuring that the streams and wetlands that feed them are protected,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin in the release. “We need sufficient clean water for drinking water, recreation and to help our economy flourish with manufacturing, farming, tourism and other economic sectors.”
The Clean Water Rule aims to make permitting more efficient and cheaper, stated the release. It does so by more precisely defining water protected under the Clean Water Act.
The businesses shared EPA views about the importance of protecting waterways like the Chesapeake Bay, reported the release. Approximately one in three people obtain “drinking water from streams that lacked clear protection before the Clean Water Rule.”
You can find the entire release here.
