"Democratic state leaders are pushing back on the Trump administration's decision to adopt a Clean Water Act interpretation they consider overly narrow.

Eleven attorneys general sent a letter last week urging EPA to reconsider its recent interpretive statement specifying that Clean Water Act permits are not required for pollution that moves through groundwater before reaching a federally regulated waterway.

"The EPA's plan to roll back Clean Water Act protections and allow polluters to threaten the health of Americans is unlawful," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said in a statement. "If you pollute a waterway, you should bear the costs of damage done to public health and the environment."

Becerra was joined by the top lawyers for Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia."

Ellen M. Gilmer reports for Greenwire June 10, 2019. [2]