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<br />-~~ ~~G <br />~~ <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION <br />Clarification of Federal Jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act <br />Whereas, all Americans need clean water and healthy watersheds to ensure clean and safe <br />drinking water supplies and outdoor recreation, and to protect bridges, roads, hospitals, <br />treatment plants, and other critical infrastructure; and <br />Whereas, county officials are on the front lines in protecting the health, safety, and welfare <br />of the public; and <br />Whereas, for nearly 30 years, virtually all natural surface waters were "waters of the <br />United States" and protected by the Clean Water Act; and <br />Whereas, counties across the nation are facing increased flooding, surface water pollution, <br />toxic blue-green algae outbreaks, and problems caused by jurisdictional determinations - <br />all related to the lack of enforcement of the original Clean Water Act of 1972; and <br />Whereas, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that over 110 million people in <br />5,646 public drinking water supply systems rely on surface water protection areas within <br />headwater and seasonal streams; and <br />Whereas, nearly 20 million Americans fall ill every year from drinking water <br />contaminated with parasites, bacteria or viruses; and <br />Whereas, wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, providing <br />habitats for many kinds of plants and animals, including more than one-third of the United <br />States' threatened and endangered species; and <br />Whereas, wetlands play an important role in providing a number of ecological services, <br />including flood protection and control; erosion and sedimentation prevention and control; <br />surface water filtration; groundwater recharge; and support for economic activity that <br />depends on healthy populations offish and wildlife; and <br />Whereas, wetlands provide opportunities for recreation, education, and research as well as <br />measurable economic contributions; and <br />Whereas, the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction over wetlands and all waters of the United <br />States has been made uncertain by U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Solid Waste Agency of <br />Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. United States Army Corps of Engineers and related <br />cases Rapanos v. United States and Carabell V. United States; and an estimated 20 million <br />acres of wetlands and 59% of all stream miles in the lower 48 states are jeopardized by the <br />Supreme Court decisions; and <br />Whereas, despite the issuance by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental <br />Protection Agency of supplementary guidance concerning Clean Water Act jurisdiction, <br />confusion over federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act persists, adding substantial <br />