Earthjustice Applauds Biden Administration’s New Freshwater Protections Initiative

Today, the Biden administration announced the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge, an initiative to increase protections for our nation’s freshwater sources and wetlands. The initiative outlines plans to protect and restore 8 million acres of wetlands while also protecting and restoring approximately 100,000 miles of our rivers and streams. Earthjustice is an inaugural member of the effort. After the announcement, Earthjustice Senior Legislative Counsel Julián González issued the following statement:

“With our wetlands and freshwater resources facing unprecedented threats from climate change, polluting industries, and reckless developers, we applaud the Biden administration for outlining its plan to protect them. Today’s announcement is one step toward facilitating better coordination between nongovernmental organizations and federal, state, local, and Tribal governments to determine the best ways to protect these precious resources. After the Supreme Court’s disastrous Sackett decision that gutted wetlands protections, this new initiative is critical to protecting the water we rely upon for drinking, recreation, conservation, and economic prosperity. We must do whatever we can to protect our water, and Earthjustice welcomes the chance to join the administration and other partners working towards these goals. After all, most people across the country and across the political spectrum agree that we deserve strong water and wetland protections.”