Lake Erie was in the 1960s. It was so overrun by pollutants that dead fish littered the shores and the adjoining Cuyahoga River caught fire.
Those bodies of water are a lot healthier now, and that has a lot to do with , which established rules in 1972 to regulate water pollution.
But this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , narrowing protections for wetlands, to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision .
The changes leave across the country without federal protections, including one in Adams County, on the southern edge of Ohio.
The Strait Creek restoration site
On the side of a rural road, Devin Schenk leads the way through a field of chin-high grass.
鈥淲e're walking over to the stream area,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭his was agricultural land that we're converting into forest.鈥�
Schenk manages The Nature Conservancy鈥檚 , where he helps restore ecosystems like this one.
A few minutes into the hike, he stops.
鈥淲e're standing where a field was,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd now we're in inches of water.鈥�
This is a wetland, and Schenk says while it might not seem like much, it鈥檚 really important.
鈥淲etlands are referred to as nature's kidney because of the way they filter out pollutants,鈥� he said.
This sloppy, squishy mud pool actually purifies the groundwater beneath it. And when it makes its way back into the nearby stream 鈥� and eventually the Ohio River 鈥� it鈥檚 cleaner than it was before.
Amelia Harris, a restoration ecologist with The Nature Conservancy, points to another wetland closeby.
鈥淚t may not look like it, but another one of our wetlands is kind of up on that hill,鈥� she said.
But unlike the first, that one is not directly connected to a stream, and therefore has no surface connection to the Ohio River or any other larger body of water.
That small distinction now makes a world of difference.
The Supreme Court鈥檚 decision
That鈥檚 because, in its recent decision , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Clean Water Act only applies to wetlands with a 鈥渃ontinuous surface connection鈥� to U.S. waters 鈥� navigable bodies of water that extend through multiple states, like the Ohio River.
Nationwide, more than , including this one up on the hill, will lose federal protection.
鈥淭o say that all of these other features aren't important and aren't worthy of oversight is really disturbing."Amelia Harris, Restoration Ecologist
While they may not be connected to a larger body of water on the surface, they still replenish the groundwater underneath.
鈥淭o say that all of these other features aren't important and aren't worthy of oversight is really disturbing,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淎nd it has a big impact in rural areas where a lot of people are reliant on well water. And well water is groundwater. That's the water that your kids are drinking and bathing in and you wash your dishes in.鈥�
But not everyone agrees.
Proponents of the decision
The Ohio Farm Bureau, and 19 other state farm bureaus, argues those federal regulations went too far.
They submitted an to that end, and it was cited in the Supreme Court鈥檚 final decision.
, the Ohio Farm Bureau鈥檚 policy council, says the court鈥檚 decision makes it easier for landowners and farmers to determine what is or isn鈥檛 federally protected.
鈥淚 think people generally want to do the right thing,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd when those regulations are clear and they can understand clearly how they apply to them, then they can do that.鈥�
And Curtis points out, Ohio still has its own for wetlands.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening in Ohio is going to be a lot different water-wise than what happens in Arizona,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so having that differentiation, having those states be able to make those determinations, can make for a better experience for everybody because they are that more local agency.鈥�
Only about have their own protections for wetlands. And after the Supreme Court decision, rolled back its state wetlands protections.
Devin Schenk worries that could happen in Ohio too, where have already been drained, filled or degraded.
But even if it doesn鈥檛, pollution from other states can make its way into Ohio water.
鈥淲e live in a country of highly connected waterways, and our streams and wetlands don't care about political boundaries,鈥� Schenk said. 鈥淎nd so relying on a hodgepodge of state protection is really troublesome.鈥�
Fourteen states drain into the Ohio River.
And without federal protections for isolated wetlands, Schenk says the weakest state laws could have ripple effects in Ohio and beyond.
