Water is scarce in Utah's dry climate, and a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency could threaten the state's water resources.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin wants to overhaul parts of the Clean Water Act in an effort to undo "unfair burdens" on farmers and landowners. The 1972 federal law aims to maintain and restore the nation's water.
Isobel Lingenfelter, wildlife connectivity coordinator for the Utah Wildlife Federation, said removing protections puts the state's water quality in serious jeopardy. She said streams that run on rainfall or snowmelt would lose federal support.
"When we're losing the protection of those streams, we're also losing the protection of what feeds our groundwater, and we use our groundwater to water our crops," he said, "and there are a lot of residents in Utah who, especially in more rural areas, use wells for their drinking water."
Lingenfelter said conservationists must continue asking the federal government to keep the broadest definition possible to protect U.S. waters. She added that Utah could also improve its existing water laws.
Listening sessions on the EPA proposal will be held this week for government agencies and Native tribes.
In 2023, the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of "waters of the United States." It determined that only wetlands that are physically connected to other federally protected waters qualify. Lingenfelter called that a flawed approach.
"Saying that something that's not connected at the surface isn't going to have an effect on water quality is a big kind of assumption that people make," she said.
The Trump administration has said it wants to reduce "red tape" for business. Conservationists fear that could mean allowing more pollution and debris in the state's wetlands.
Lingenfelter called clean drinking water a nonpartisan issue, adding that giving businesses a break should not come at the expense of public health.
"To say that business cannot afford to keep our public waters clean," she said, "is to say that we can't afford our public health."
