A federal court’s decision to vacate a Trump-era Clean Water Act rule clears the way for the EPA to revise its 50-year-old guidance governing state and tribal authority over water pollution discharges, attorneys said.
Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last week vacated the 2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule, saying that leaving it in place pending Environmental Protection Agency review would have risked “significant environmental harms.”
Section 401 gives states authority to ensure that federal agencies won’t issue permits or licenses that violate the water quality standards, or other ...