Bloomberg Law
Oct. 22, 2021, 10:15 PM

Court Vacates Trump-Era Clean Water Rule While It’s Under Review

Tripp Baltz
Tripp Baltz
Staff Correspondent

A federal court in California on Friday vacated a Trump-era rule limiting state and tribal authority to determine whether certain federally-approved projects could pollute waters.

The decisionby the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California determined the long-term environmental effects of leaving the rule in place outweighs the economic impact on developers, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D). The rule had numerous deficiencies, including a lack of reasoned agency decision-making, the court said.

  • The court found it conflicted with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which has traditionally given states and tribes the power to ...