Tell The U.S. EPA To Protect The Streams and Wetlands That Feed Our Great Lakes

“More than 40 million people (Americans and Canadians)  rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water. We cannot afford to roll back protections now.”

An Action Alert from the Alliance For The Great Lakes, a nonpartisan nonprofit working across the region to protect our most precious resource: the fresh, clean, and natural waters of the Great Lakes

Posted December 4^th, 2025 on Niagara At Large

The world’s larges supply of fresh water, as seen from space

A Brief Foreword Note from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large – While the Alliance for the Great Lakes is an American-based environmental group, they have always welcomed Canadians joining them in contacting U.S. government parties about issues of concern around the Great Lakes. After all, these are shared waterbodies and we have to work together to protect and preserve them for present and future generations.

Now back to the Alliance’s Action Alert – 

The U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is proposing to weaken the Clean Water Act by eliminating protections for many streams and wetlands that feed into the Great Lakes. This would put our drinking water, communities, and wildlife at risk.

The EPA needs to hear from thousands of people who care about clean water. Your voice matters! The deadline to comment on the proposed rule is January 5.

What’s happening?

The EPA has proposed a revised definition of the “waters of the United States” that would drastically narrow which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. The rule could remove safeguards for seasonal streams, small tributaries, and large areas of wetlands—including many waters that eventually flow into the Great Lakes.

Weakening these protections would:

• Allow more pollution to enter rivers, lakes, and drinking water sources
• Increase flooding by destroying wetlands that store stormwater
• Raise costs for communities that must treat more contaminated water
• Harm fish, wildlife, and recreation opportunities

More than 40 million people (Americans and Canadians)  rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water. We cannot afford to roll back protections now.

What you can do!

Contact the U.S. EPA today and urge them to withdraw the proposed rule and uphold strong protections for all U.S. waters.

Draft your note to U.S. EPA.  Start by explaining why clean water matters to you, whether you fish, boat, rely on a well, work in a water-related industry, or simply care about protecting the Great Lakes.Then ask EPA to withdraw the proposed rule and uphold strong protections for all U.S. waters.

If it’s helpful, use some of the language below and make it your own.I urge the U.S. EPA to withdraw the proposed revision to the definition of “waters of the United States.” Weakening this definition will remove protections from wetlands and streams that feed into our lakes and drinking water sources—including the Great Lakes.

These waters filter pollution, reduce flooding, support fish and wildlife, and provide clean drinking water for millions of people, and yet the proposed rule gives little to no attention to the impacts on public health, water quality, and flood prevention that will result from removing these protections. Allowing more wetlands to be filled and more streams to be polluted shifts the burden onto communities, taxpayers, and water customers who must pay for increased treatment costs.

The Clean Water Act has protected the water in our nation’s lakes, rivers, and streams for more than 50 years, and 94% of Americans support strong safeguards. The EPA should strengthen—not weaken—protections for wetlands and streams. I urge you to withdraw the proposed rule and ensure that all waters that affect downstream water quality remain protected.

Submit your comment to the U.S. EPA. Go to  [https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-0001] and follow the instructions.

Please take action by January 5th! And, if you have a minute, reply to this email to let us know that you contacted the EPA.

Thank you for speaking out to protect the Great Lakes!

• Your friends at the Alliance for the Great Lakes

Take Action [https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-0001]

• Protecting Water, Sustaining Life

The Alliance for the Great Lakes is a nonpartisan nonprofit working across the region to protect our most precious resource: the fresh, clean, and natural waters of the Great Lakes.

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