EPA helps promote benefits of Clean Water Rule in Maryland

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aquarium and representatives from industry groups like boaters and brewers came together Wednesday at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to stress the importance of what the Clean Water Rule means to Maryland.

The Clean Water Rule was created to make clearly define the protections outlined in the Clean Water Act with the aim of helping industries and businesses comply more easily and of protecting rivers, streams and wetlands. Areas included under the newly expanded EPA jurisdiction help control flooding, filter pollutants and provide drinking water for one third of Americans – and approximately 4 million people in Maryland.

“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,” EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin said. “We need sufficient clean water for drinking water, recreation and to help our economy flourish with manufacturing, farming, tourism, and other economic sectors.”

Local business owners at the Inner Harbor event were supportive of the agency’s goals and actions under the new regulation, citing the importance of clean drinking water for the state and preserving Chesapeake Bay.