NEWS in brief
Global Highlights lawmakers , Trump called the rule “ one of the worst examples of federal regulation ” and said “ it has truly run amok .”
At issue : the definition of “ navigable waters ” under the Clean Water Act . Under the 2015 Obama rule , those waters could include , for example , anything within a 100- year floodplain or within 4,000 feet of a high-tide mark . “ A few years ago , the EPA decided that ‘ navigable waters ’ can mean nearly every puddle or every ditch on a farmer ’ s land , or anyplace else that they decide — right ? It was a massive power grab ,” Trump said .
Trump ’ s plan of attack is similar to his earlier order aimed at a consumer-protection regulation called the Fiduciary Duty rule . Because the rule was finalized in 2015 , the Trump administration will have to start the regulatory process from the beginning to remove it from the books . The executive order instructs the Environmental Protection Agency and the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers to do just that , asking them to reconsider whether federal jurisdiction extends to non-navigable streams .
But unlike the Fiduciary Duty Rule , which was scheduled to go into effect April 10 , the Waters of the United States rule has already been blocked by a federal appeals court in Cincinnati . The executive order also asks the Justice Department to put that appeal on hold while the administration reconsiders the rule .
And it gives direct advice to agencies about how Trump would like to see the term “ navigable waters ” defined . In a 2005 Supreme Court decision , Justice Antonin Scalia defines them “ only those relatively permanent , standing or continuously flowing bodies of water forming geographic features that are described in ordinary parlance as streams , oceans , rivers , and lakes .”
UN : $ 4.4bn needed to prevent ‘ catastrophe ’ of famine
UN chief Antonio Guterres says more than 20 million people face starvation in South Sudan , Nigeria , Somalia and Yemen
The United Nations needs $ 4.4bn by the end of March 2017 to prevent “ a catastrophe ” of hunger and famine in South Sudan , Nigeria , Somalia and Yemen , according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres .
More than 20 million people face starvation in the four countries and action is needed now to avert a humanitarian disaster , Guterres told a news conference at UN headquarters on Wednesday the 22 February .
“ We need $ 4.4 billion by the end of March to avert a catastrophe ,” he said .
So far , the UN has raised just $ 90m . South Sudan on Monday declared a famine in northern Unity State while Fews Net , the famine early warning system , has said that some remote areas of northeast Nigeria are already affected by starvation since late last year .
The four famine alerts are unprecedented in recent decades .
There has only been one famine since 2000 , in Somalia . At least 260,000 people died in that disaster - half of them children under the age of five , according to the UN World Food Programme .
The UN children ’ s agency UNICEF this week said almost 1.4 million children acutely malnourished in Nigeria , Somalia , South Sudan and Yemen could die from famine in the coming months .
Of the four famine alerts , only one - Somalia - is caused by drought , while the other three are the result of conflicts , also described as “ man-made food crises ”.
“ The situation is dire ,” said Guterres .
“ Millions of people are barely surviving in the space between malnutrition and death , vulnerable to diseases and outbreaks , forced to kill their animals for food and eat the grain they saved for next year ’ s seeds .”
The appeal for international action came as humanitarian aid groups are already struggling to meet needs in Syria and cope with the global refugee crisis .
Uranium Contaminates Montana Water System By Sara Jerome
A water system in Montana that has been plagued with chronic water problems recently warned residents about uranium contamination . “ The town of
Image credit : “ 35 / 365 ,” Krystian Olszanski © 2010
Whitehall has had problems with its water for close to a year . Last year it was E . coli contamination , now it ’ s too much uranium . Officials sent several notices to residents about the water being contaminated ,” NBC Montana reported .
“ This is the fourth time Whitehall has gotten dinged by the [ state ] for having uranium rates over the drinking water limit in its water supply . The problem began in early fall 2015 ,” the Independent Record reported .
In a notice sent to residents in December , the town said ratepayers need not rely on an alternative drinking water
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