Local environmentalists and farmers are at odds over a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule.

The rule was enacted to clear up confusion about which bodies of water are protected under the 1972 Clean Water Act. It defines smaller streams that flow into larger bodies of water like the Narragansett Bay as protected U.S. waters.  

Environment Rhode Island, a local advocacy group, said in a written statement that according to 2009 data from the EPA, repealing the rule could impact the quality of drinking water for more than half a million Rhode Islanders. 

Saumya Shruti, campaign coordinator for Environment Rhode Island, said the repeal could also cause problems for other habitats.

“The Clean Water Rule affects 54 percent of Rhode Island’s streams and numerous wetlands, so not only clean water for us, but the wildlife, the environment, we cannot ensure that we are protecting that (if the rule is repealed),” Shruti said.  

The Rhode Island Farm Bureau, however, supports the repeal.

Henry Wright, president of the bureau, said the EPA has broadened its definition of navigable waters, which burdens farmers by regulating farmland. 

“A rainstorm that creates a little drainage ditch with water in it for a few hours is not a navigable water source,” Wright said. “It’s been happening in nature forever and for the most part it’ll continue to do that.” 

The EPA says normal farming practices such as plowing and minor drainage are permitted under the Clean Water Rule. 

The public has 30 days from this past Tuesday to call their U.S. senators to comment on the proposal.