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2mo ago

EPA Proposes Rule to Narrow State and Tribal Reviews Under Clean Water Act 401

The plan refocuses certification decisions on direct discharges to accelerate permits for energy and AI-related infrastructure.

FILE - Bethsaida Sigaran, left, of Baltimore, her brother Jaime Sigaran, with American Rivers, and Thea Louis, with Clean Water Action, join other supporters of the Clean Water Act as they demonstrate outside the Supreme Court, Oct. 3, 2022, in Washington, as the court begins arguments in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - A man carries a sign before a rally opposing the Constitution Pipeline outside the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y., April 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he signs executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
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Overview

  • Announced on Jan. 13, the proposal would confine Section 401 reviews to water-quality impacts from point-source discharges into federally regulated waters.
  • EPA details standardized application requirements, bars withdrawal-and-resubmittal tactics to extend timelines, and reinforces a one-year deadline with a set schedule for public hearings.
  • The agency plans roughly 30 days for public comment and targets issuing a final rule in the spring.
  • Republican lawmakers praised the move as aligning with efforts to reduce permitting delays and said they will keep pushing to codify similar limits in statute.
  • Environmental groups and some state officials say the changes would curb state and tribal authority, further limit oversight after the Sackett ruling, and weaken scrutiny of projects such as pipelines, dams, and coal terminals.