Trump administration on Thursday has revoked an Obama-era regulation that shielded many U.S. wetlands and streams from pollution but was opposed by developers and farmers who said it hurt ecomic development and infringed on property rights.

Environmental groups criticized administration's action, latest in a series of moves to roll back environmental protections put into place under President Barack Obama.

What is water protection rule?

2015 Waters of United States rule defined waterways subject to federal regulation. Scrapping it "puts an end to an egregious power grab, eliminates an ongoing patchwork of clean water regulations and restores a longstanding and familiar regulatory framework," Environmental Protection ncy chief Andrew Wheeler said at a news conference in Washington, D.C. Wheeler and R.D. James, assistant secretary of Army for civil works, signed a document overturning rule and temporarily restoring an earlier regulatory system that emerged after a 2006 ruling from a sharply divided Supreme Court. ncies plan to adopt a new rule by end of year that is expected to define protected waterways more narrowly than Obama policy.

Clean Water Act requires landowners to obtain federal permits before developing or polluting navigable waterways such as rivers and lakes. But disputes have long persisted over what or waters are subject to regulation — particularly wetlands that don't have a direct connection to those larger waters, plus small headwater streams and channels that flow only during and after rainfall.

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Experts scoff at decision

Environmentalists contend many of those smaller, seemingly isolated waters are tributaries of larger waterways and can have a significant effect on ir quality. Denying m federal protection would leave millions of Americans with less safe drinking water and allow dam of wetlands that prevent flooding, filter pollutants and provide habitat for a multitude of fish, waterfowl and or wildlife, y said. "By repealing Clean Water Rule, this administration is opening our iconic waterways to a flood of pollution," said Bart Johnsen-Harris of Environment America. " EPA is abdicating its mission to protect our environment and our health."

Wheeler said regulators had gone far beyond intent of Congress under 1972 clean water law. " 2015 rule meant that more businesses and landowners across U.S. would need to obtain a federal permit to exercise control over ir own property, a process that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take months or even years to complete," he said. "It also put more local land-use decisions in hands of unelected bureaucrats. Many Americans balked at this idea, and rightfully so."

President Donald Trump had ordered EPA and Army Corps to develop a replacement policy that has a more restrictive definition of protected wetlands and streams. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)  said administration's action would be challenged in court. " Clean Water Rule represented solid science and smart public policy," group said in a statement. "Where it has been enforced, it has protected important waterways and wetlands, providing certainty to all stakeholders."

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Obama-era rule faced issues

Zippy Duvall, president of American Farm Bureau Federation, said 2015 rule had generated a greater sense of urgency among its membership than any or issue."When you take private property rights from a man that's worked all his life ... to grow food and fiber for all of us to sit down and enjoy three times a day, it's something he just can't stand," Duvall said.

But Laura DeYoung, who runs a small sheep farm near Peninsula, Ohio, said she favored federal oversight to protect Lake Erie, where agricultural phosphorus ruff is blamed for large algae blooms."thing in Obama regulations that came out prevented me from farming way I was previously farming," she said.

question of which waters are covered under Clean Water Act has inspired decades of lawsuits and numerous bills in Congress. United States Supreme Court in 2006 produced three differing opinions, leading Obama administration to craft its rule. It provided federal oversight to upstream tributaries and headwaters, including wetlands, ponds, lakes, and streams that can affect quality of navigable waters. regulation faced quick legal challenges from 31 states and court rulings blocking its implementation in some. It was effective in 22 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories before Thursday's action.

Betsy Sourland, who was Director of Science and Techlogy in EPA's Office of Water during Obama administration, said revoking its policy would create furr regulatory confusion. "This repeal is a victory for land developers, oil and gas drillers and miners who will exploit that ambiguity to dredge and fill small streams and wetlands that were protected from destruction by 2015 rule because of ir critical impact on national water quality," Sourland said. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican and chairman of Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, applauded Trump administration move, saying Obama rule "would have put backyard ponds, puddles, and prairie potholes under Washington's control." Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, where two disputes over federal wetlands permits led to 2006 Supreme Court case, said Trump "has decided to weaken protections for our water and reward corporate polluters."

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