EPA proposal would remove Ohio wetland protections

TWINSBURG — Erica Matheny, the executive director of Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners, said protecting freshwater resources is critical.

“We do a lot of work, a lot of outreach, helping to educate folks in all the communities around general environmental protections, around stormwater management,” Matheny said. 

She spends a lot of time teaching people about the Tinker’s Creek watershed, the largest tributary of the Cuyahoga River. 

A rule change proposed by the EPA will impact waterways around the U.S by changing what bodies of water are protected by the Clean Water Act. 

“This would be the worst rollback of federal Clean Water Act protections by an administration since it was enacted in 1972,” said Jon Devine, the Executive Director of Freshwater Ecosystems at the National Resources Defense Council.

Devine said the proposal would create a stricter definition of what water is protected under the Clean Water Act – the new definition only protecting waterways that are filled for a majority of the year. 

“What it would really do is really hurt those streams that don’t flow year-round, or wetlands, marshy areas,” he said.

Devine said this would open the door to commercial, oil and gas development on these wetlands. 

“Really, those areas will be open to being exploited,” Matheny said. 

The U.S EPA and Army Corps of Engineers analyzed the impact of the proposal –  estimating that roughly 94% of wetlands in Ohio would lose protections under the rule change. 

Matheny said wetlands help filter out toxins in the water and provide important flood relief. 

“If you don’t have wetland protections, then there might not be places for floodwater to go as easily,” Matheny said. 

Right now, the rule change is only a proposal, and Matheny encourages those who support federal protections for wetlands to make their voices heard. 

“Speak up. If congress and local legislatures don’t realize people’s care, then they are less likely to act. This water is everyone’s water. It’s a resource that belongs to the people, so I think it’s really important that people pay attention,” Matheny said.