On January 10, 2003 CWN opposed a draft proposed Watershed Rule, which proposes new regulations to guide the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. This proposal, if promulgated, would:

• Allow states to avoid doing cleanup plans for many polluted waters;
• Make cleanup plans less effective by not assigning responsibility to specific sources;
• Fail to protect waters that are in danger of becoming polluted;
• Attempt to allow EPA to escape its responsibility for ensuring watershed plans are designed to clean up polluted waters; and
• Allow states to drop polluted waters from cleanup lists.

CWN additionally opposed further changes that the Administration is currently considering in the context of the informal review process at OMB. Specifically, we opposed changes that would weaken current requirements for states to prepare cleanup plans for waters polluted by sediment or heat. For these reasons, CWN urged the Administration not to proceed with this rulemaking and not to issue the rule.