Closing clean-water loophole in bay a win for the entire state

To the Editor:
All our waterways should be clean enough to drink from, fish from, and swim in without risk of pollution – from our local rivers and streams to iconic waters like Narragansett Bay. Unfortunately, loopholes in the Clean Water Act have left many of our smaller waters unprotected, including those that feed into Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island’s Scituate Reservoir.
Pollution in streams and wetlands affects larger waterways downstream. Luckily, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently came out with a new science report confirming that smaller streams do in fact fundamentally affect the larger bodies of water. This could pave the way to closing loopholes in the Clean Water Act.
As a current University of Rhode Island student studying wildlife conservation and biology, I support this new report, and understand how critical it is to protect and conserve the wildlife of Rhode Island.
I applaud Reps. David N. Cicilline and James R. Langevin for signing a letter asking the EPA to move forward to protect our environment and our health by restoring Clean Water Act protections to all America’s waterways, including all our streams and wetlands.
Elizabeth Shadle
University of Rhode Island South Kingstown

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