Federal District Court Rejects Motion to Enjoin Biden Administration’s Section 401 Clean Water Act Rule

March 28, 2024
Brielle A. Brown, Esq.
MGKF Litigation Blog

In State of Louisiana et al. v. U.S. Envt’l Prot. Agency et al., 2:23-CV-01714, 2024 WL 994651 (W.D. La. Mar. 7, 2024), a federal judge rejected certain states’ and industry groups’ motion for preliminary relief to enjoin the EPA’s revised Clean Water Act (CWA) rule (2023 Rule). The 2023 Rule reinstated EPA’s long-held interpretation of Section 401 of the CWA that afforded states and tribes broad authority to veto or impose conditions on federally permitted activities due to water quality concerns. The court’s decision is a blow to efforts instituted by EPA under the Trump administration to interpret the authority of states and tribes more narrowly under Section 401.

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