AG Ferguson: Court strikes down Trump’s attempt to gut Clean Water ActRuling blocks a Trump-era rule that limits states’ ability to protect water quality

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that the court vacated, effective immediately and nationwide, the Trump Administration’s attempt to dismantle key environmental protections in section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

In July 2020, Washington, New York and California co-led a broad coalition of 17 other states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the new section 401 rules, which handcuffed states’ ability to police a wide range of water pollution and related environmental damage.

This ruling, issued last Thursday, is Ferguson’s 43rd win against a Trump administration action. Over half of these wins are in environmental protection related cases.

“While Trump was in office, his administration did everything it could to yield to the interests of polluting industries,” Ferguson said. “Today’s ruling stopped one of his most egregious attempts to strip states’ ability to protect their communities against threats to water quality.”

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