Biden Administration to Reverse Trump-Era Water Rule That Kept States from Blocking Energy Projects

An undated photo showing an oil transit pipeline running across the tundra to a flow station at the Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska's North Slope. Al Grillo, File/AP Photo

The Biden administration has proposed a new rule that would give states more power to oppose energy projects and other infrastructure through control of water quality permits, rolling back a Trump-era regulation that made it harder for such projects to be blocked.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on June 2 that it has put forward a draft rule that would update regulatory requirements for water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.