EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin warned states and tribes Thursday not to “leverage” the Clean Water Act to block or impede energy projects approved by the Trump administration.
The agency issued a memorandum reiterating states’ and tribes’ “specific and limited” authority to review infrastructure projects for potential water quality effects and announced it would soon propose a regulation on the topic.
“Under the last administration, certain states attempted to leverage the Clean Water Act to undercut projects that would boost national and regional development and unleash American energy resources,” Zeldin said in a statement. “With this memorandum, EPA is reinforcing the limits on Clean Water Act section 401 certification to support energy, critical mineral, and infrastructure projects that are key to economic growth and Power the Great American Comeback.”
At issue is a provision in the Clean Water Act that allows states and tribes to evaluate federally permitted energy projects, like pipelines and dams, for their effects on waterways and water resources in their borders. EPA is responsible for developing a regulation laying out how the authority should be implemented.
