Trump revises Biden's tweak to the clean water rule

The Trump administration proposed on Tuesday a rule that would revise pollution protections from the Biden era?for waterways. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this move?would accelerate permitting for energy and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The rule is a result of the former administration of Joe Biden's 2023 completion of the Clean Water Act's 401 section. This reversed the 2020 rule of President Donald 'Trump's First Term and gave states and tribes authority to?protect waters in their reviews for projects requiring federal permit.

Jess Kramer is the EPA's assistant administrator for water. He told reporters that the revision of 2023 was "fundamentally flawed, inefficient - and ineffective." Kramer claimed that Biden's revised rule led to long?certification times. Kramer stated that the?proposed regulation will lead to predictable permits which would "unleash American power dominance" as well as support emerging artificial-intelligence infrastructure.

Biden's rule was praised by environmental justice groups and conservationists concerned about the pollution effects on waterways, and the communities that depend on them.

Kramer stated that the proposed rule would ensure that section 401 is not "weaponized by states to shut down projects for purely political reasons." The Biden administration already 'narrowed' the rule after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to 'limit the regulatory scope of the EPA - on the rule - in August 2023. Many farmers and landowners had criticized the agency over what they called regulatory overreach.

Kramer stated that the proposed rule would be subject to a 30-day period of public comment. The EPA hopes the rule can be finalized in the spring.

(source: Reuters)