Thursday Top of the Scroll: Colorado considers water and wetland protections as federal regulations are rolled back
The federal government is limiting which bodies of water are eligible for protection under the Clean Water Act. Now, Colorado is working on its own set of rules for places that will no longer be federally protected, following a 2024 bipartisan law. … The Sackett ruling, along with the new proposal to only protect permanent rivers and wetlands directly connected to them, poses a problem for Colorado and other Mountain West states. Because of the region’s reliance on snowmelt for much of its water supply, bodies of water are often ephemeral, or intermittent.
Other Clean Water Act news:
- The Colorado Sun (Denver): First-of-a-kind rules to protect Colorado streams, wetlands face final hearing
- California Ag Today: Blog: Federal water rule could ease burdens for farmers
- The National Law Review: EPA and Army Corps release proposed rule significantly narrowing Federal “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) jurisdiction After Sackett
