TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to change the definition of which bodies of waters in the U.S. are protected under the Clean Water Act.
It's a change President Donald Trump has been working toward since the beginning of his presidency.
Then-President Barack Obama's rule changed the definition of which bodies of water the federal government had authority over to include streams and wetlands.
Now, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler says it would make clear where federal juristiction begins and ends.
The Friends of Lake Jackson in Tallahassee commented on the plan in their meeting Wednesday night.
"We had a long discussion about that today in the meeting," one person said. "You could see the various things that need to be balanced. What's happening is that the emphasis is shifting back down to the local level, to the states, the counties and cities and to groups like ours."
Friends of Lake Jackson also stressed the importance of protecting your local green and wild areas.
They say any shift can change the ecosystem and have consequences.
