Water

Obama EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says the Trump administration’s abandonment of environmental regulation is forcing states to take the lead in protecting public health and the environment, and innovation happening with such policies at the state and local level will be key to “how we build out of the morass we’re in now.”

Environmentalists are defending their appeal of a district court decision that partly remanded EPA’s approval of Oklahoma’s coal ash disposal permit program while upholding broader elements of the agency’s review process for state rules, arguing that waiting for the remand to conclude is pointless because it requires no new action from EPA.

Drinking water and wastewater utilities are supporting EPA’s proposed changes to guidance on calculating whether utilities can afford required infrastructure improvements as a “considerable improvement” over existing guidance but are urging the agency to clarify some items and say “continued refinement would improve implementation” of the document.