SACRAMENTO, California — The leading trade group representing California’s public water agencies came out Monday against a bill meant to protect the state from Trump administration rollbacks.
What happened: The Association of California Water Agencies adopted an “oppose” position to Sen. Ben Allen’s SB 601, which would clarify state law to reclassify all waters that were previously defined as “waters of the state” prior to the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision.
ACWA senior policy advocate Soren Nelson said in an email the group has “serious concerns with SB 601, as it would needlessly complicate the state’s regulatory framework for protecting water quality, lead to frivolous litigation, and almost certainly translate into higher water bills for Californians.”
Why it matters: ACWA’s opposition is a signal that the bill faces an uphill battle.
