Local officials from across the Southeast met Thursday in Atlanta as talks continued about what one called “a common sense approach” toward proposed new federal water rules.
The all-day gathering, which was to include Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, is part of work being done by a national local government advisory committee to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The group expects to issue recommendations later this year to the agency, which proposed in March to use Clean Water Act standards for smaller bodies of water such as streams and wetlands.
“All of us have an interest in clean water” and want to understand what the proposal would mean for local municipalities, said Sue Hann, city manager of Palm Bay, Fla., and chairwoman of the advisory committee’s “protecting America’s waters” work group.
The EPA already regulates large bodies of water, such as the coastal waters off Georgia. Federal officials have said the new rule would clarify how the Act applies to smaller bodies of water that directly impact the rivers, lakes and bays they intersect.
A number of agricultural groups, however, have urged the EPA to reconsider the rule because they fear it will harm farmers and ranchers.
The agency is taking public comments on the proposed rule until Oct. 20.
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