Epa's Deregulation Of Water Pollution Rules: Timeline And Impact

In March 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 31 regulatory changes, including the review of water pollution rules. The EPA's administrator, Lee Zeldin, stated that these changes would reduce the burden on industry and lower the cost of living for Americans. Among the changes, the EPA will reconsider limitations and guidelines for the steam electric power generation industry, as well as wastewater regulations for oil and gas development. The agency also plans to revise the definition of waters of the United States to provide clarity and reduce costs for businesses. These changes have been criticised for potentially compromising clean air and water protections and for being detrimental to the environment and human health.

Trump's deregulation of water pollution rules

In March 2025, the Trump administration announced a wave of regulatory rollbacks, including the repeal of over two dozen US air and water pollution rules. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Trump's leadership unveiled a list of 31 regulations it will scale back or eliminate, including rules limiting harmful air pollution from cars and power plants, restrictions on the emission of mercury, and clean water protections for rivers and streams.

The EPA's administrator, Lee Zeldin, called the rollbacks the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen and a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion. He also stated that the deregulation would "drive down the cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the US, restore the rule of law, and give power back to the states".

Trump's EPA aimed to narrow the definition of waterways that receive protection under the Clean Water Act, a move that could ease limits on runoff pollution from agriculture, mining, and petrochemicals. The agency also said it would review the Biden-era clean power plant rule, which seeks to reduce carbon emissions from power plants to fight global warming.

The regulatory rollbacks also included a repeal of Biden-era emissions limits on power plants and automobiles, as well as reduced protections for waterways. The EPA said it would reconsider mercury and air toxics rules updated under Biden, which were designed to target coal-fired power plants. It also planned to revisit standards set under the Biden administration to reduce soot and air particulate matter.

According to assessments conducted by the EPA itself, the regulations targeted by the rollbacks are projected to prevent nearly 200,000 deaths over the next 25 years by helping to avoid an array of health problems worsened by air and water pollution. William Reilly, who was EPA administrator under George HW Bush, said that Trump's vision threatens to plunge the US back into a pre-1970s era when cities were routinely shrouded by dangerous smog and rivers were so polluted by chemicals and waste that they sometimes caught fire.

Biden's tightening of water pollution rules

In 2023, the Biden administration expanded protections for US waterways under the Clean Water Act. The new rule, known as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, identified and expanded the water bodies protected under the Act. This move was a response to a Trump-era rule that left thousands of water bodies unprotected. The Biden administration also tightened regulations on wastewater from steam-powered electric generating power plants, such as coal plants, which emit hazardous metals like mercury and arsenic. These metals can have serious health effects, including increasing cancer rates and lowering childhood IQ scores.

The Biden-Harris administration has also taken steps to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants and protect communities from its impacts. In April 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a suite of final rules to reduce pollution from these power plants, improve public health, and ensure reliable electricity. The rules aim to significantly reduce climate, air, water, and land pollution from the power sector. One of the final rules requires fossil fuel-fired power plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution. The Biden administration also strengthened and updated the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67%.

The Biden-Harris administration has also prioritized tackling PFAS pollution, which has contaminated drinking water sources for millions of people across the country. In April 2024, the administration finalized the first-ever national drinking water standard to protect 100 million people from PFAS pollution. The EPA is making unprecedented funding available, including nearly $1 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to help states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and address private well contamination. The administration's goal is to reduce the cancer death rate by at least half by 2047 and prevent more than four million cancer deaths by protecting communities from known risks associated with PFAS exposure.

The Biden-Harris administration has also worked to advance electric vehicles (EVs) and reduce emissions from cars and trucks. While the previous administration's rules did not require automakers or consumers to adopt EVs, the Biden-Harris administration has provided incentives and investments to promote EV adoption. Additionally, the administration has committed to reviewing emissions standards for traditional vehicles, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.

EPA's reconsideration of wastewater regulations

In March 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 31 historic actions in the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in US history. The EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, stated that these actions would advance President Trump's Day One executive orders and Power the Great American Comeback.

One of the 31 actions included the EPA's reconsideration of wastewater regulations for oil and gas development. This reconsideration aims to help unleash American energy by reducing the costs of compliance for oil and gas companies. The EPA has stated that these stringent rules are costly to industry and may, therefore, raise residential energy bills.

The EPA's move to deregulate wastewater regulations is part of a broader effort to reduce the burden of regulations on industry and promote American energy development. This includes reconsidering limitations, guidelines, and standards (ELG) for the steam-electric power-generating industry, as well as reviewing the Biden administration's standards to avoid constraining energy production.

The EPA's decision to deregulate wastewater regulations has been controversial. While supporters argue that it will reduce compliance costs and promote American energy, critics contend that it falls short of protecting public health and the environment. The EPA's own mission is to protect the environment, and experts have warned that upending environmental regulations could have devastating consequences for human health and the environment.

In addition to the EPA's actions, the US Supreme Court has also been involved in weakening rules governing the discharge of raw sewage and pollutants into water supplies. In March 2025, the Court ruled that the EPA could not employ generic, water body-focused pollution discharge limits and must provide specific limitations to pollution permit holders. This ruling was in response to a case brought by San Francisco, challenging the EPA's authority to issue permits related to wastewater discharge.

Supreme Court's ruling on sewage discharge

The US Supreme Court has made it more difficult for environmental regulators to limit water pollution, ruling in favour of San Francisco in a case about the discharge of raw sewage that sometimes occurs during heavy rains. The ruling, decided by a 5-4 conservative majority, determined that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had overstepped its authority under the Clean Water Act by issuing water pollution permits with ambiguous requirements for maintaining water quality.

The case centred around a permit issued by the EPA to San Francisco, allowing the city to discharge pollutants from its combined sewer system into the Pacific Ocean. The permit included generic prohibitions on activities that would impact water quality, aiming to stop the city's release of raw sewage into the ocean during rainstorms. San Francisco challenged the permit, arguing that the EPA lacked the statutory authority to impose such conditions.

The Supreme Court agreed with San Francisco, ruling that the EPA cannot employ generic, water body-focused pollution discharge limits to Clean Water Act permit holders. The court held that the EPA must provide specific limitations to pollution permittees. In other words, the EPA can set limits on what can be discharged but cannot make permittees responsible for maintaining the overall quality of the water body.

The ruling, written by Justice Samuel Alito, stated that the EPA has adequate tools to obtain the necessary information from permittees without resorting to "end-result" requirements. However, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined by three liberal justices, dissented, expressing concern that the technology-based effluent limitations may not be sufficient to ensure water quality standards are met.

EPA's revision of waters of the United States rule

On March 12, 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Army announced a joint memorandum issuing guidance to field staff on the implementation of a "continuous surface connection." This was in line with the US Supreme Court's decision in the Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency case on May 25, 2023. The agencies also announced a Federal Register notice, inviting the public to provide feedback on the definition of "waters of the United States."

The EPA's Administrator, Lee Zeldin, announced that the EPA would work with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to review and revise the definition of "waters of the United States." This revision aimed to reduce red tape, cut permitting costs, and lower the cost of doing business for farmers, landowners, and businesses. The previous definition had been deemed burdensome and costly, and the new definition would provide clear and simplified guidance while protecting navigable waters from pollution.

The EPA's review was guided by the Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which stated that the Clean Water Act's use of "waters" only includes relatively permanent, standing, or continuously flowing bodies of water, such as streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes. Wetlands would only be covered if they had a continuous surface connection to these water bodies.

The EPA's goal was to have clean water for all Americans, supported by consistent and clear rules for all states, farmers, and small businesses. The agency sought to balance environmental protection with economic growth, lower costs for families, and the empowerment of various sectors, including agriculture and entrepreneurship.

This revision of the "waters of the United States" rule was part of a broader effort by the EPA to undertake historic deregulatory actions, with Administrator Zeldin announcing nearly three dozen moves. Many of these changes affected regulations related to clean water and air, with the agency reconsidering various rules and standards to reduce costs and burdens on industries.

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