A federal judge on Monday struck down a Trump-era rule that eliminated protections for streams, marshes and wetlands across the United States. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez, of Arizona, wrote that leaving the policy in place can cause “serious environmental harm.”
The Washington Post reports that Márquez’s ruling “will afford new protections for drinking-water supplies for millions of Americans, as well as for thousands of wildlife species that depend on America’s wetland acreage.”
The case centered on what bodies of water merit federal protection under the Clean Water Act. The Obama administration determined that “ephemeral” streams produced by rainfall are subject to federal regulations. “Hydrologists have found that even these intermittent rivulets can affect the water quality of large rivers and lakes downstream,” reports The Post.
But Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency – with the backing of farmers and developers – jettisoned that determination, arguing that it imposed too many restrictions on businesses.
President Biden vowed to rewrite the rule. His administration expressed particular concern about water quality in an era of increasing drought. While they worked out a final policy, they left the Trump change in place.
But six federally recognized Native America tribes, in addition to environmental groups, wanted the Trump-era rollback struck from the books as soon as possible, arguing that their waterways were in danger of being permanently damaged.
Marquez agreed with them.
Janette Brimmer, an attorney with Earthjustice who brought the suit, celebrated the judge’s decision.
“The court recognized that the serious legal and scientific errors of the Dirty Water Rule were causing irreparable damage to our nation’s waters and would continue to do so unless that Rule was vacated,” said Brimmer. “This sensible ruling allows the Clean Water Act to continue to protect all of our waters while the Biden Administration develops a replacement rule.”
Businesses are likely to appeal the ruling.
“The fallout for private property owners, especially farmers, is that they’re going to be cast back into a situation where they have a lot more uncertainty,” Mandy Gunasekara, who served as EPA’s chief of staff during Trump’s last year in office, told The Post.