The Trump administration has backed away from a proposal to help the Forest Service’s use of fire retardant pass legal muster.
Forest Service applications of fire retardant from aircraft continue uninterrupted, but EPA was planning to grant the agency a general permit to comply with the Clean Water Act in light of a court ruling on the matter.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said the rulemaking clearing the way for the permit was withdrawn Jan. 24, less than two months after the Biden administration’s EPA sent it along for review.
A spokesperson at EPA didn’t have immediate comment Thursday on the Trump administration’s withdrawal. But because the issue has played out in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Montana, the court is likely to shape what the government does next.