President-elect Donald Trump could have an easier path to limiting federal water protections than he did during his first term due to a sweeping Supreme Court ruling backed by two of the three justices he appointed.
Trade associations for farming companies and housing developers say they will urge the incoming Trump administration to change how the federal government determines which rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands fall under the Clean Water Act.
Over half of the nation’s wetlands most likely lost longstanding protections after the high court’s Sackett v. EPA ruling in 2023. But the trade groups say the Biden administration has flouted the court’s decision and that companies applying for permits to fill in wetlands still don’t know what the rules are.
“We do intend to work with the Trump administration to provide more clarity and provide more certainty, particularly in this post-Sackett world that we’re living in,” said Courtney Briggs, senior director of government affairs at the American Farm Bureau Federation.
