SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney released the following statements on Thursday decrying President Trump’s brazen and disastrous decision to roll back Clean Water Act protections nationwide, including over a majority of New Mexico’s waterways. Earlier today, the federal administration finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, redefining the “Waters of the U.S.”:

“Trump’s new rule is an absolute disaster for the state’s water resources,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “No other natural resource in New Mexico has greater significance to our people than our water: environmentally, culturally, economically, recreationally. Stripping federal protections from our rivers and streams is an affront to all who call New Mexico home. My administration is committed to protecting New Mexico’s precious waters and will consider all legal options to prevent this rule from going into effect. This is far from over.”

“The EPA failed to consult with my Department after we submitted extensive comments on the draft rule despite their repeated assurances to engage,” said Secretary Kenney. “This federal administration’s self-proclaimed deregulatory agenda ignores sound science, states’ rights and most troubling, the EPA’s own mission to protect public health and the environment.”