The Trump administration wants to cut the number of waterways protected under the Clean Water Act.

Some business owners and developers say the move would help them operate better because it would change which wetlands and streams legally count as an “official water of the United States.”

Those designations are covered by the Clean Air Act, which was originally written in part by the late Michigan Congressman John Dingell.

His wife, current U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, says protecting streams and wetlands helps stop pollution from flowing to large bodies of water like the Great Lakes.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

U.S. Rep Debbie Dingell: People that are seasoned, like myself, know what our waters used to look like. And John Dingell was really the significant author of the Clean Water Act, along with the late former U.S. Sen. Ed Muskie. And he did it because the Rouge River caught on fire. Now, the consequences of what this administration is going to do would undermine the strong protections that have kept our water safe and healthy and have cleaned them up. So I’m very concerned that we not go backwards. We see the Great Lakes and our Detroit water system is significantly improved from where it was 30 years ago, 40 years ago. But we have to keep cleaning it up. And taking away those safeguards endangers our water.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: Some environmental groups often raise concerns about runoff from farmland into waterways or companies dumping there illegally at times. Now they say this change proposed by the Trump administration could increase the chance of those types of activities happening. Do you agree with those kinds of concerns?

DD: I’m very, very concerned about what this means and what the real consequences are. Lake Erie has seen very significant experiences of algae blooms. People have actually been told not to drink tap water. So I think it’s very important that we make every effort to continue to clean up our water, protect our waters. And the administration’s announcement that they were going to roll back Clean Water Act regulations worries me greatly.

QK: On the other side, some business owners and farmers, among others, have said that they think the change will help them. It’ll limit the costs and regulatory red tape, they say, of having to check if a stream or other waterway on their property is covered under the Clean Water Act. They say it should be something that states regulate more than the federal government. What’s your reaction to those comments?

DD: We need to have federal regulation. Because here’s the reality. Water doesn’t say, “oops, I’m at a state line.” Do you think Lake Erie or the Detroit River know when they’ve crossed a state border? I think we should all be working together to keep our water safe. But when water runoff is going into major tributaries like the Huron River, the Rouge River, then goes into the Detroit River, which goes into the Great Lakes, there are consequences when there are things in those waters that are not safe. Things the public needs to be protected from. I want to reduce regulation. I want to look at how we can simplify. But undermining the goal of clean water is something that worries me greatly and something I will always fight for.