It was a victory for a range of business interests that have lobbied to scale back the #CleanWaterAct of 1972, including farmers, home builders, real estate developers, #oil drillers & #petrochemical manufacturers.

…Under the #CleanWater Act, companies & individuals must obtain a permit from the #EPA before releasing #pollutants into the nation’s #waterways. They must receive a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers.…

#climate #wildlife #law #EnvironmentalLaw

A 2023 #SCOTUS decision set the stage for the action by limiting the agency’s power to police #wetlands. In the opinion in Sackett v. EPA, Justice #Alito wrote that the #CleanWaterAct allowed the #EPA to regulate only wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to a “relatively permanent” body of #water.

But he did not explicitly define a “relatively permanent” body of water. Now, the #Trump admin is describing it as a body of water that flows year-round or during the “wet season.”

#law

The #Trump admin proposed Monday to significantly limit the EPA’s authority to limit #pollution in #wetlands, #rivers & other bodies of #water across the country.

The proposed rule could strip federal #protections from millions of acres of wetlands & #streams, potentially threatening sources of clean #DrinkingWater for millions of Americans.

#climate #wildlife #law #EnvironmentalLaw #CleanWaterAct
nytimes.com/2025/11/17/climate…