Clean Water Act rollback will not harm Longmont water supply

The U.S. Supreme Court significantly curtailed the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate wetlands and waterways, but Longmont officials said the action will not impact the quality of the city’s water supply.

The court’s conservative majority used a recent case to roll back long standing rules adopted to carry out the Clean Water Act. The court majority said that the Clean Water Act extends only to streams, oceans, rivers and lakes and wetlands with a “continuous surface connection to those bodies” — which does not include many previously regulated wetlands.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser released a statement in reaction to the change.

“The Court’s new definition of waters of the United States will return our nation to a patchwork of rules and undermine water quality protection efforts in Colorado,” he said. “And it will do so without the benefit of a transition period to give states and regulated parties time to adjust to a new regime that will have to replace the existing one.”

Weiser said that the court’s new test for waters protected by the Clean Water Act would strip many streams and wetlands in Colorado of federal protections, meaning Colorado will have to step in to address the impacts of dredge and fill activities that have historically been overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“The state of Colorado has a strong interest in protecting water quality because our economy and way of life rely on clean water,” Weiser said. “And, as a headwaters state, Colorado’s rivers supply millions of people in the U.S. and Mexico with water needed for drinking, agriculture, industry and outdoor recreation. We in Colorado must find a way forward to protect waters within our borders and provide regulatory certainty for all of us in our state who depend on clean water.”

Ken Huson, water resources manager for Longmont, said that the city’s water sources are still fully protected by a fairly comprehensive set of federal and state regulations.

“In addition, the city has an excellent water treatment facility and operators continually monitoring the quality of the City’s water supply, resulting in high quality water to all of our customers,” Huson said. “This recent Supreme Court action will not impact the quality of the City’s water supply.”