Executive Branch

EPA Moves to Limit State Authority in Reviewing Water Impacts of Major Developments

Under the proposed new approach, reviews would be confined to assessing direct pollutant discharges into waters under federal jurisdiction.
EPA Moves to Limit State Authority in Reviewing Water Impacts of Major Developments
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin testifies before the House Subcommittee on Environment on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 20, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Kimberly Hayek
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The Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 13 proposed narrowing states’ and Native American tribes’ use of the Clean Water Act to block or impede projects such as natural gas pipelines, a step the agency said will speed up permitting for infrastructure vital to energy production and technological growth.

The proposed regulation would revise a 2023 policy from the Biden administration that broadened local oversight under Section 401 of the act.

Kimberly Hayek
Kimberly Hayek
Author
Kimberly Hayek is a reporter for The Epoch Times. She covers California news and has worked as an editor and on scene at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2018 migrant caravan crisis.