Addressing Climate Vulnerabilities in Water Enforcement Remedies
The goal of this memorandum is to ensure that remedies in Clean Water Act (CWA) and Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) enforcement actions are resilient in the face of climate impacts, such as sea level rise, flooding, and drought, which will increasingly affect water infrastructure and regulated entities’ ability to comply with CWA and SDWA requirements. This memorandum builds on the efforts of states, local communities, and industry that are addressing this issue, and adopts common sense measures for protecting people, the environment, and economic investments from the impacts of a changing climate, with the goal of assuring long-term compliance with the CWA and SDWA. This memorandum is also intended to provide national consistency and predictability, while maintaining flexibility for each unique enforcement situation.
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