Biden Administration Formally Replaces Prior Administration’s Clean Water Rollback

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency today officially replaced a regulation issued by the Trump administration that would have rolled back protections for clean water nationwide. The “Dirty Water Rule” would have eliminated federal Clean Water Act protections for millions of miles of streams and tens of millions of acres of wetlands.  

The following is a statement from Jon Devine, director of federal water policy for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):  

“It’s a smart move to take this off the books. Eliminating the anti-science Trump ‘Dirty Water Rule’ and codifying longstanding practices is a sensible, good-government action. And this comes at a time when we’re seeing unprecedented attacks on federal clean water protections by polluters and their allies. While the nation still has significant work to do to fully protect important waters, it’s encouraging to see the country taking a step in the right direction to protect the waters we need for everyone’s health and the environment.” 

For more, here is a recent analysis by NRDC and partners of the bodies of water around the country that would be at risk under approaches like the Trump-era rule.

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.