Court Dumps Trump-Era Water Rule

September 1, 2021

A federal judge has struck down a Trump administration rule that significantly reduced the scope of waterways eligible for protection under the Clean Water Act. That 1972 law prohibits polluting “waters of the United States” without a permit, but opposing political camps have argued over which waters were covered. In Issues, Charles Herrick surveys the shifting views, and he highlights in particular the threat to wetlands that the Trump rule posed. Ultimately, Herrick writes, the nation needs a “policy framework that can assure stewardship of wetlands even in the face of changing political winds,” and he sketches what the framework should include.

Posted by Tom Burroughs