"The EPA is revoking fast-tracked guidance clarifying Trump-era Clean Water Act permitting requirements for indirect water pollution, according to an agency memorandum posted online Thursday.
The nonbinding guidance came in January, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund in April 2020 that the Clean Water Act’s permitting requirements extend to indirect pollution that is the “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge.
The Environmental Protection Agency finalized the guidance just over a month after it was proposed in the final weeks of the Trump administration.
The agency is rescinding the guidance because the provision concerning the “functional equivalent” provision violates the Clean Water Act and is inconsistent with the Maui ruling, Radhika Fox, assistant EPA administrator for water, said in a memo Wednesday."
Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment September 16, 2021.
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