On Wednesday, November 12, our county board voted 3 to 2 in support of a 10-page resolution submitted by Commissioner Garry Gamble titled, “Resolution-2014 Proposed Waters of the U.S.” The lengthy resolution asserts many falsehoods about the EPA’s proposed tightening of the Clean Water Act, or the “Waters of the U.S.” proposal.
Among the inaccuracies is the notion that the new regulations will expand the coverage of the Clean Water Act. This is patently not true. The new regulations will not, contrary to what Gamble asserts, expand jurisdiction over ditches, groundwater or change any of the existing exemptions.
His accusations that the EPA’s regulation of water is “in direct violation of the Constitution” and that it will “substantially interfere with the ability of individual landowners to use their property” are also not true. Gamble even goes so far as to accuse the EPA of being in violation of the 5th Amendment, by making the dishonest assertion that the Rule is some kind of absolutist land grab.
By submitting this resolution, Gamble is giving the false impression that county government has jurisdiction over the regulation of clean water. It doesn’t. His resolution is an embarrassment to Cook County and Commissioner Gamble, along with Commissioners Hall and Martinson, have taken the liberty of signing all of our names to it. I would encourage anyone interested to visit the “Waters of the U.S.” website to read the facts about what is actually being proposed: www2.epa.gov/uswaters/ditchmyth. After all, everyone lives downstream from somewhere.
Staci Drouillard
Grand Marais
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