Federal judge in Tucson throws out Trump rule limiting protection of streams, washes | Subscriber

[ad_1]

Monday’s ruling is a huge victory for six tribes that have challenged Trump rule, including the Tohono O’Odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui tribe based in southern Arizona. Other tribes who joined the lawsuit were the Quinault Indian Nation, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

The ruling applies nationally, which means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Corps must change Trump’s rule to comply with that decision if a successful appeal is not filed. The verdict comes as the EPA and the Corps were already working to revise the rule by order of the White House von Biden.

In the Tucson area and Arizona in general, federal controls over short-lived ablutions and creeks – the most abundant creeks in this arid region – were at stake.

The rule of the Trump era had put an end to any federal control over development along such washes. If federal agencies determine that such jurisdiction exists, a developer, mining company, or other company wishing to develop along such washes must obtain federal clean water law approval to move dredging and filler material into the washes initiate.

In the wake of the latest lawsuit, the EPA and the Corps had agreed to have the Trump rule from 2020 sent back to the agencies for revision, but had opposed to repealing the rule entirely.

[ad_2]