"The Environmental Protection Agency is aiming to rewrite Trump-era regulations that curtailed the ability of states and tribes to protest major energy projects that threaten rivers, lakes and streams"
"Plans to build massive ports for shipping coal abroad, seaside terminals for supercooling gas and thousands upon thousands of miles of pipelines cutting through rivers and streams across the United States will all soon be getting extra scrutiny as the Biden administration prepares to give states and tribes more authority to block energy projects.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it will rewrite a rule finalized last year under President Donald Trump that upended the way the Clean Water Act had worked for half a century. The Trump administration tried to clear away regulatory hurdles for fossil fuel development after New York and other left-leaning states halted gas pipelines and other projects they feared may contaminate rivers, lakes and other waterways within their borders.
Now, in an about-face, the agency is preparing to rework those regulations, potentially allowing state officials to take a broader array of environmental concerns — including climate change, an increasing concern among officials in blue states — into account when deciding whether to approve major construction that could defile bodies of water."
Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post May 27, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"EPA Restoring State And Tribal Power To Protect Waterways" (AP)
"E.P.A. to Modify Trump-Era Limits on States’ Ability to Oppose Energy Projects" (New York Times)
"EPA To Revise Trump Rule Limiting State Authority To Block Pipelines" (The Hill)
"U.S. EPA To Revise Trump Water Rule In Boost To States' Climate Fight" (Reuters)
