Court’s Vacatur Of Florida 404 Program May Raise Bar For Other States

A federal judge’s decision to vacate EPA’s Trump-era approval of Florida’s application to assume Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404 permitting authority for violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could set a high bar for other states seeking such authority as environmentalists vow to force strict review of ESA requirements. The ruling “sends a clear signal that Congress meant what it said when it passed the Endangered Species Act,” Christina Reichert, an attorney at Earthjustice, said in a statement after...