"Developers seeking to build dams, mines, data centers or pipelines must navigate a permitting process to do so. One requirement in the process is obtaining certification from a tribe or state confirming that the project meets federal water quality standards. Currently, tribes and states conduct holistic reviews of projects, known as " activity as a whole ", evaluating all potential impacts on water quality, including spill risks, threats to cultural resources, and impacts on wildlife. This approach was established under the Biden administration in 2023."
""What the Trump administration is proposing to modify here is a really important tool for states and tribes, because it gets at their ability to put conditions on or, in extreme cases, block projects that are either proposed by the federal government or under the jurisdiction of the federal government," said Miles Johnson, legal director at Columbia Riverkeeper, an organization that works on issues affecting the Columbia River."
"However, the newly proposed rule would limit reviews to "discharge only," where both states and tribes are able to review projects solely based on how much pollution they would release, narrowing the scope of oversight."
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed revising the Clean Water Act section that regulates water quality and limits states' and tribes' authority over federal projects and tribal review authority. The proposal would erase a tool tribes use to enforce treaty rights and would reduce tribal capacity to protect tribal citizens. Project developers must obtain certification from a tribe or state confirming compliance with federal water quality standards. Tribes and states currently perform holistic "activity as a whole" reviews assessing spill risks, cultural-resource threats, and wildlife impacts; the proposal would narrow reviews to "discharge only." The proposal also changes how tribes can gain regulatory authority.
Read at High Country News
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