I write in response to the Sun Journal’s article to upgrade the Androscoggin River’s classification (March 13).
The current federal administration has reversed the 1972 Clean Water Act that limits pollution in waterways. The Obama administration had further clarified that rule because confusion about which streams and wetlands fell under federal authority. Under the rule, farmers, and others, using land near streams and wetlands were restricted from doing certain kinds of plowing and from planting certain crops without obtaining EPA approval to use chemical pesticides and fertilizers that could run off into bodies of water. Those restrictions will now be lifted.
A wide range of environmental protections are similarly being eliminated.
The Trump administration has embarked on the biggest land protection rollback in U.S. history. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers that, together, wrote the Obama water rule, are attempting to reverse the ruling by implementing a new ruling.
I am hoping they can succeed before the Androscoggin River reverts back to its polluted state.
Donald Vaillancourt, Lewiston
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