The Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday that Secretary Kristi Noem has waived the protections of the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes to “ensure the expeditious construction” of the border wall through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. … [T]he federal government will no longer have to follow the National Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Water Act, the Migratory Bird Conservation Act and other seminal federal laws. … The area targeted for construction falls within the Rio Grande floodplain. A 1970 treaty between the U.S. and Mexico commits both countries to ensuring that construction along the Rio Grande does not obstruct the river or the flow of flood waters.

Other Rio Grande news:

• E&E News by Politico: Border wall builders strip enviro laws from Texas wildlife refuge
• John Fleck at Inkstain: Blog: New Mexico’s dry Middle Rio Grande — more data visualizations