We'll drink to water rule

President Obama's late but welcome restoration of the government's power to keep polluters from dumping toxins upstream of drinking water supplies is undergoing its greatest challenge.

Republicans and some Democrats are trying to scuttle the rule clarifying the extent of the government's powers under the Clean Water Act. Following the simple logic that poison dumped upstream will flow downstream and eventually into water taps, the new rule protects small streams, headwaters, and wetlands that are crucial to the quality of water supplies.

Unfortunately, a pair of Supreme Court decisions muddied that logic, leaving the Environmental Protection Agency with the ability to protect only large bodies of water such as the Delaware River - which, of course, is fed by the sort of smaller streams that were left vulnerable.

Under the new rule, a permit would be required for any activity that damages or pollutes a small stream or wetland. That gives the government the ability to assess whether the result would be too harmful to drinking water supplies.

The rule doesn't affect groundwater or ditches that fill with rain that eventually flows into the water supply. In other words, this isn't the regulatory overreach that opponents have claimed.

Regulators gave the matter careful consideration, deliberating over 1,200 published, peer-reviewed scientific studies, 400 meetings with business and environmental interests, and more than a million public comments before finalizing the rule.

Despite all that research, the rule is under attack. Last week, a Senate committee released a bill that would gut the rule, and other destructive measures are pending in the House. The president has promised to veto any such legislation to protect one of his most significant environmental policies.

Knowing this was going to be a difficult battle, environmentalists wisely drew some interesting partners into their coalition, including beer brewers such as Downingtown's own Victory Brewing Co. The rule stands to benefit a variety of businesses looking to limit water pollution, like food processors and growers, as well as anyone who doesn't want to be sickened by dirty drinking water.

But it has enemies among oil and gas companies, industrial farmers, irresponsible developers, and producers of lawn and other chemicals. Such special interests should not be allowed to stop an effort to protect the country's health and enjoyment of clean water.