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Clean Water Act › Biden Administration › Trump Administration

The Clean Water Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1972 to reduce levels of toxic substances in the nation's water supply and to prevent high levels of new contamination.  The CWA seeks to... more +
The Clean Water Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1972 to reduce levels of toxic substances in the nation's water supply and to prevent high levels of new contamination.  The CWA seeks to accomplish its stated goals by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources, assisting wastewater treatment facilities and maintaining wetlands. less -
Nossaman LLP

What’s Up With WOTUS?

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The intricacies of the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) definition continue to evolve, especially with recent changes initiated under the Trump administration and landmark clarifications from the Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Dredging Ahead: Army Corps Proposes to Reissue Nationwide Permits

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The federal government is continuing to implement President Donald Trump’s Unleashing American Energy mandate to promote domestic energy and infrastructure projects. On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...more

Morgan Lewis

US EPA Announces Ambitious PFAS Agenda

Morgan Lewis on

On April 28, 2025, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced ambitious plans to advance regulation of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The plans include the near-term...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

EPA Just Laid Out Its PFAS Game Plan — And It Appears That PFAS Regulation Is Here to Stay

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On April 28, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a long-anticipated suite of actions aimed at PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Closely watched by stakeholders across industries,...more

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Corps and EPA Rescind Biden Wetland Guidance – Move to Revise “Waters of the United States” Definition

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP on

On March 12, 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a Federal Register notice stating their intent to review the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”), which...more

MG+M The Law Firm

The Withdrawal of PFAS Effluent Limits: Implications for Federal Environmental Regulation and Biosolids Management

MG+M The Law Firm on

The regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remains a critical issue in US environmental policy, with significant implications for water quality, biosolids management and state-level regulatory authority. On...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Key environmental issues facing the Trump administration

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP on

The Biden administration introduced wide-ranging environmental regulations with profound and far-reaching effects on the environment and the economy. In its first two weeks, the Trump administration has signaled an attempt...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Recent Executive Action May Impact PFAS Regulation

Troutman Pepper Locke on

The regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” was a focal point for the Biden administration. In April 2024, the administration, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),...more

Mintz

Now a Federal Judge in Louisiana will determine the validity of EPA's interpretation of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act

Mintz on

When EPA published its most recent rule specifying the role of States and Tribes in the Federal permitting of discharges into Waters of the United States, I predicted it was only a matter of time before we'd see another...more

Mintz

Surprising to see EPA now taking steps to make it easier for states to take over the Federal Government's dredge and fill permit...

Mintz on

I'm surprised to see the Biden Administration EPA moving forward right now with a rule proposed during the Trump Administration to allow states to take over responsibility for the permitting of "dredge and fill" activities...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Waters of the U.S. Rule Will Significantly Expand Federal Authority

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rulemaking on Jan. 18, 2023, revising the definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) within the Corps1 and...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Supreme Court Uses Emergency Docket to Weigh-in on Section 401 Program

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on

Entities seeking federal authorization for infrastructure projects that may impact waters of the United States must obtain a Section 401 certification under the Trump administration’s narrowed Section 401 certification...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

What Does the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Section 401 Mean for Residential and Commercial Developers?

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THE CLEAN WATER ACT AND SECTION 401 - In 1948, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) as the first rendition of a law intended to address growing pollution of American waters. By 1972, increased...more

Woods Rogers

Legal Alert – U.S. Army Corps Pauses Permit Decisions

Woods Rogers on

Permit applicants who have pending applications with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”) may have received word in the last two weeks that the Army Corps has paused finalization of any permit decisions that relied...more

Williams Mullen

WOTUS, WOTUS, WOTUS...

Williams Mullen on

Like everything else today, the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) ebbs and flows depending on which political party holds office. However, while the Biden Administration gets...more

Williams Mullen

Environmental Notes - October 2021

Williams Mullen on

Like everything else today, the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) ebbs and flows depending on which political party holds office. However, while the Biden Administration gets...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

The Legal Tug of War Over the Definition of Waters of the United States

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP on

Once again, developers and other interested parties are grappling with yet another District Court decision regarding the definition of Waters of the United States. On August 30, 2021, the Federal District of Arizona vacated...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Federal court vacates and remands Trump administration federal wetlands rule

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On August 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued an order vacating the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and remanding the rule back to U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The...more

Bilzin Sumberg

Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump Administration’s Federal Wetlands Regulations Rule

Bilzin Sumberg on

Yesterday, a federal judge vacated the Trump Administration's Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“NWPR”) that had narrowed the scope of federal jurisdiction over wetlands. ...more

Mintz

Another Judge Who Couldn't Care Less What EPA Thinks -- Will the Chaos Created In Arizona Spread?

Mintz on

News this morning that an Arizona Federal District Court Judge has done what many of us expected would happen eventually -- purport to strike down the Trump Administration's regulation establishing the reach of the Federal...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Biden Administration Begins Process of Revising Waters of the U.S. Rule

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced on Aug. 4, 2021, the start of a long anticipated rulemaking process to revise the regulatory definition of "waters of the U.S."...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

EPA to Modify the Navigable Waters Protection Rule

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on

Proposed regulatory changes will increase the extent of lands throughout the country that will be designated, and regulated, as wetlands. On June 9, 2021, the Department of the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

U.S. EPA and Army Corps to repeal and replace Navigable Waters Protection Rule

Bricker Graydon LLP on

On June 9, 2021, the Biden administration announced its intent to repeal and replace the Trump administration’s 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which defines which waterbodies constitute “waters of the United States”...more

Williams Mullen

Biden DOJ Quickly Rescinds Trump Environmental Enforcement Policies

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Much attention has been devoted to environmental policies of the prior Trump administration that are likely to be reversed or altered by the new Biden administration. See, e.g., Biden Administration Could Quickly Adopt Many...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Tearing Down Trump’s Environmental Wall: Justice Department Ditches Impediments to Effective Enforcement

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Late last week, the Justice Department withdrew nine Trump-era policy and guidance documents that shaped how the Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) enforced environmental law during the past...more

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