EPA Moves to Repeal More Flexible Trump-Era Waters of the U.S. Rule after Court Ruling
The ruling continues the legal and regulatory battle over the scope of federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act,
In a new development, an Arizona federal district judge on August 30 tossed out the Trump administration’s April 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR). The decision creates major uncertainty for a wide array of industries and landowners. The impact of the ruling is significant and continues the decades-long legal and regulatory battle over the scope of federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act, including what wetlands and other waters are subject to permitting under the definition of "waters of the United States."
In the 11-page decision vacating and remanding the NWPR, Judge Rosemary Marquez noted that EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers made serious errors in enacting the Trump-era rule, highlighted the likelihood that the agencies will revise the rule, and agreed with tribal plaintiffs on the possibility of serious environmental harm if the NWPR remains in place.
In a milestone response to the decision by Judge Marquez, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers just after the Labor Day holiday announced that federal implementation of the Trump-era rule would be halted, and EPA would revert to pre-2015 policies governing federal jurisdiction over waters of the U.S.
While further litigation is likely, EPA and the Corps will continue to advance the rulemaking process to formulate yet another WOTUS definition that the agencies note will be “informed by diverse perspectives and based on an inclusive foundation.” The agencies have committed to releasing a new rule by early 2022 to redefine which waters of the U.S. are subject to federal regulatory authority.
This update is courtesy of the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF). For more information or to become a member, visit nasf.org.
Related Content
-
Novel Wastewater Treatment Targets Micropollutants
Swiss wastewater treatment technology provider Oxyle specializes in advanced wastewater treatment for removal of highly persistent micropollutants such as PFAS.
-
NASF/AESF Foundation Research Project #122: Electrochemical Approaches to Treatment of PFAS in Plating Wastewater - 12th Quarterly Report
This NASF-AESF Foundation research project report covers the 12th quarter of project work (October – December 2023) at the University of Georgia. In our previous report, we described our work on performance and effect of surface fluorinated Ti4O7 anodes on PFAS degradation in reactive electrochemical membrane (REM) mode. This quarter, our experiments involved utilizing porous Ti4O7 plates serving both as anodes and membranes. Tests compared pristine and F-18.6 Ti4O7 anodes at current densities of 10 mA/cm2 and 40 mA/cm2. This 12th quarterly report discusses the mechanisms of the effects on EO performance by anode surface fluorination.
-
NASF/AESF Foundation Research Project #122: Electrochemical Approaches to Treatment of PFAS in Plating Wastewater - 10th Quarterly Report
The NASF-AESF Foundation Research Board selected a project addressing the problem of PFAS and related chemicals in plating wastewater streams. This report covers the 10th quarter of work (April-June 2023). Here, we examine the effect of surface fluorination of Ti4O7 anodes on PFAS degradation performance in terms of energy performance as well as formation of chlorate and perchlorate when chloride is present in the solution. The full paper on this work can be accessed and printed at short.pfonline.com/NASF24Feb2.
