Biden administration acts to restore clean-water safeguards

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has taken action to restore federal protections for hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways. The government is undoing a Trump-era rule that was considered one of that administration’s hallmark environmental rollbacks. At issue is a regulation that defines the types of waterways qualifying for federal protection under the Clean Water Act. Thursday’s announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency and Army reinstates a rule in place before 2015 while the Biden administration arrives at its own. Environmental groups and public health advocates say a strong federal rule is crucial to protect countless small streams, wetlands and other waterways that are vulnerable to pollution from development, industry and farms.