Trump rule limits states from blocking pipeline projects

The Trump administration gutted a key portion of the Clean Water Act on Monday, limiting states’ ability to block controversial pipeline projects that cross their waterways. The final rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) targets Section 401 of the law, which lets states halt projects that risk hurting their water quality. It’s been a target of President Trump, who last April ordered the agency to accelerate and promote the construction of pipelines and other important infrastructure. “Today, we are following through on President Trump’s Executive Order to curb abuses of the Clean Water Act that have held our nation’s energy infrastructure projects hostage, and to put in place clear guidelines that finally give these projects a path forward,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. The Clean Water Act essentially gives states veto power over large projects that cut through their rivers and streams, giving them a year to weigh permits and determine how projects would impact their water quality. Environmentalists see it as a way for states to assert their power to block risky projects, but the fossil fuel industry and many Republicans say the section has been abused to stall infrastructure...MORE