Thank you, Judge: Water Supplies Are Now Safer in This Country

Streams, marshes and wetlands are under better protection since a federal judge in Arizona, United States, reversed and vacated the previous administration’s regulation because of the serious environmental harm it could cause.

“We came in and said, ‘No, no, no, no, you can’t leave [the previous regulation] in place,’” says Janette Brimmer, senior attorney for Earthjustice, which represented the Native American and green groups in court. “This is hugely good.”

Even though the ruling has been made in Arizona, it is applicable nationwide. It offers new protections for drinking-water supplies for millions of citizens and thousands of wildlife species that rely on wetland territories to survive. The Clean Water Act – a landmark law that came into force in 1972 – has yet to be applied to its full extent, and this ruling is a step towards that reach.