UPDATE: ORSANCO commissioners have decided against a move to eliminate its water pollution standards. Instead, the agency will consider alternative proposals and go out for more public comment.
The new rule would eliminate federal protections for about 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s streams. Only major navigable waterways, tributaries that run into them or adjacent wetlands along with some lakes will be covered by the Clean Water Act.
It's been more than four years since then-Flint Mayor Dayne Walling pushed the button switching the city’s drinking water source to the Flint River. What are things like there now?
The streams carry some of the cleanest water in the state, attracting tourists and providing drinking water to cities downstream. But resort owners worry that greater protections could hamper future development.
