in May,"at least two Republican-led states, Alaska and Nebraska, and one led by a Democrat, Minnesota, are on a quest to oversee a dredge-and-fill permitting program that influences construction projects with implications for federally protected waters."noted that the EPA confirmed it was"having discussions with the trio of states about the possibility of shifting primacy over the permitting program" as the agency continued to work on the proposal that was unveiled Wednesday.
"Most recently we have seen states like Florida work with the Trump administration, cutting corners to unlawfully take this permitting authority from federal agencies, with disastrous consequences," he said."It is up to EPA to ensure that it will not happen again. Florida will not be the last state that tries to erode federal oversight of our waters and wetlands by taking over 404 permitting while avoiding accountability.
But two-and-a-half years into the state takeover, it isn't yet the deregulatory panacea state officials and the EPA had hoped for. "EPA must ensure that the final version of this rule reflects the concerns of affected communities, which have been fighting attacks on the Clean Water Act, and who have not been consulted on this issue at all," he added."A weak framework for 404 assumptions will further embolden the industry's deregulatory agenda to destroy wetlands and pollute our waters in the name of profit. We look forward to giving EPA additional feedback on this important rule."Sackett v.