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For Immediate Release
July, 13 2020, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Andrew Hawley, Western Environmental Law Center, hawley@westernlaw.org
Amy Kober, American Rivers, akober@americanrivers.org
Bob Nasdor, American Whitewater, bob@americanwhitewater.org
Nic Nelson, Idaho Rivers United, nic@idahorivers.org
Walter “Redgie” Collins, California Trout, rcollins@caltrout.org
Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Advocates Challenge EPA Rule Granting Industry Priority Over State, Public in Clean Water Decisions
Citing breathtaking levels of overreach, conservation, fishing, and paddling advocates today filed a complaint in federal court challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
SEATTLE
Citing breathtaking levels of overreach, conservation, fishing, and paddling advocates today filed a complaint in federal court challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) final rule effectively sidelining the role the states and the public have long played in permitting decisions affecting clean water.
"With this rule change, the Trump administration has given corporations the green light to run roughshod over local communities, and has proven it is more interested in corporate rights than states' rights," said Andrew Hawley, attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. "The judicial branch must intervene to preserve some semblance of balance in our nation. What an opportunity for the courts here: To stop this flagrant overreach steamrolling states and Tribes while preserving an essential public health and clean water protection."
The new rule guts the Clean Water Act's Section 401 provisions, which for nearly 50 years have provided for states' and authorized Tribes' self-determination in permitting for a wide array of projects requiring federal approval within their borders. The rule also suppresses state and Tribal public participation processes that moor U.S. water policy in the harbor of democracy.
"Now is not the time to be rolling back protections for our rivers and clean water," said Chris Williams, senior vice president for conservation at American Rivers. "We need to be doing more, not less, to ensure healthy rivers can provide clean drinking water and support strong communities and local economies. The Trump administration's unlawful new 401 rules abandon the Clean Water Act's commitment to providing a voice for Tribes, states, and communities in how their rivers and streams are protected and managed, allowing potentially harmful projects to escape critical local review. We must protect the rights of states and Tribes to defend clean water safeguards."
"The rule changes will have a long-term and devastating effect on California's ability to manage its clean water resources," said Redgie Collins, staff attorney at California Trout. "Unless changed, this gives hydroelectric dam operators the ability to skirt State Water Board regulations that protect the health, safety, and welfare of all Californians."
This rule change is separate from rollbacks to the Waters of the U.S. Rule (WOTUS), which eliminates protections for many waterbodies throughout the country, but represents an equally dangerous threat to clean water and public health nationwide: Section 401 applies broadly to any proposed federally licensed or permitted activity that may result in a discharge into any waterway that is covered under the law. Projects that may be approved against states' and Tribes' wishes include pipelines, hydropower, industrial plants, municipal facilities, and wetland development.
Working in combination, the Section 401 and WOTUS rollbacks will make it virtually impossible for states, Tribes, and communities to stand in opposition to projects that will pollute and harm their rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands.
Further, the new rule limits the information on proposed projects that may be made available to the states, Tribes, and the public.
"These new regulations are a brazen attack on the Clean Water Act with the goal of undermining the public's ability to protect our rivers from harmful impacts of federally-licensed energy projects on the environment and outdoor recreation," said Bob Nasdor, American Whitewater legal director. "Rather than protecting and restoring our rivers, these rules will weaken water quality by limiting the information, time for review, and ability of the states to require that projects meet state standards."
"Under the cover of COVID-19, the Trump administration has again stripped one of our bedrock environmental laws and is giving extractive and polluting industries the power to dictate their own pollutant levels in our rivers, lakes, and wetlands, all in the name of profit," said Nic Nelson of Idaho Rivers United. "By effectively silencing public review and participation processes for these projects, they will have equally degraded our basic rights of democracy."
The new rule, finalized without Congressional input, directly overturns Congress' intent to integrate state and federal authority for permitting decisions affecting state waterways.
Letters (public comments) from states, Tribes, and organizations opposing Section 401 rollbacks:
Opposition Letter: State of South Dakota (scathing)
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/v.mLY3z2d_20191021South_Dakota_CWA_401_commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Arkansas
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/5RTbsrt8~_AR_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of California
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/F1zojtGKa_20191021_Ltr_to_A_Wheeler_re_SWRCB
Opposition Letter: Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/FoaQ2zvAh_20191021Yakama_Nation_Section_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: Inter Tribal Association of Arizona
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/.jk5nJ1oK_InterTribal_Assn_of_AZ_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Idaho
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/kZlX31CB7_ID_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Louisiana
October 19, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/F52ivsrg._LA_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
October 22, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/UTuKpy6FF_Menominee_Tribe_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Montana
October 17, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/SnoPVhxYj_MT_401_rule_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Nevada
October 17, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/0BeC6MkzI_NV_401_Rule_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of New York
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/c0.jrsYs~_NY_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Pennsylvania
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/Q9h7qFprp_PA_Comments_on_401_rulepdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: Seattle City Light
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/XDTlaYaTh_Seattle_City_Light_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: Skokomish Indian Tribe
October 20, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/NKCE.ps4l_20191020Skokomish_Tribe_Section_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: Standing Rock Sioux
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/67Ar2EyV8_Standing_Rock_Sioux_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Tennessee
October 21, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/e7PdQltny_TN_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Texas
October, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/SS5mPC48m_TX_401_commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians
October 14, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/hiNTrBCKr_Twenty_Nine_Palms_Band_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: State of Washington
May 24, 2019
https://pdfhost.io/v/21GYgD4xa_WA_401_Commentspdf.pdf
Opposition Letter: National Governors' Association
October 18, 2019
https://www.nga.org/policy-communications/letters-nga/natural-resources-committee/
Opposition Letter: Western Governors' Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Council of State Governments, Western Interstate Region, Association of Clean Water Administrators, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Association of State Wetland Managers, Western States Water Council
October 16, 2019
https://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/standcomm/scnri/EPA_NPRM_CWA_401_Comments_FINAL.pdf?ver=2019-10-17-150909-880×tamp=1571346568787
Opposition Letter: Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and 31 other organizations
October 21, 2019
https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files
Opposition Letter: Sens. Carper, Duckworth, and Booker
October 21, 2019
Opposition Letter: Southern Environmental Law Center
October 21, 2019
Opposition Letter: Rep. Peter DeFazio
July 29, 2019
https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2019-7-29%20PAD_LTR%20to%20EPA%20re%20401Certification.pdf
The Western Environmental Law Center uses the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate. We envision a thriving, resilient West, abundant with protected public lands and wildlife, powered by clean energy, and defended by communities rooted in an ethic of conservation.
(541) 485-2471LATEST NEWS
In Latest Attack on Media, Trump Sues Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Report
Citing the suit and other recent Republican attacks on the press, one critic said that "it sure looks like an open attempt at authoritarian control of the media."
Jul 18, 2025
U.S. President Donald on Friday made good on his pledge to sue The Wall Street Journal over its reporting that he wrote a "bawdy" letter for a leather-bound album that Ghislaine Maxwell prepared for the 50th birthday of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who allegedly killed himself in jail while facing federal sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence "for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors," collected dozens of letters for the book, according to the Journal.
The one allegedly crafted by Trump, the newspaper reported, "contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president's signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair."
As the paper—part of billionaire Richard Murdoch's media empire—detailed Thursday evening:
The letter concludes: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."
In an interview with the Journal on Tuesday evening, Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture. "This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake Wall Street Journal story," he said.
"I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women," he said. "It's not my language. It's not my words."
He told the Journal he was preparing to file a lawsuit if it published an article. "I'm gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else," he said.
On Friday, the president—a well-documented liar—sued the Journal in a federal court in Miami, Florida for assault, libel, and slander, according to CNN. In addition to the newspaper and its parent company News Corp, Politico reported, "the suit names WSJ reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo. It also names Rupert Murdoch."
Trump sued Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal in Judge Aileen Cannon's district. www.cnbc.com/2025/07/18/t...
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— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) July 18, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Trump had said on his Truth Social platform Friday morning: I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his 'pile of garbage' newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!!!"
Later Friday, he addressed the filing in a post that noted his other recent lawsuits against media companies:
BREAKING NEWS: We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS "article" in the useless "rag" that is, The Wall Street Journal. This historic legal action is being brought against the so-called authors of this defamation, the now fully disgraced WSJ, as well as its corporate owners and affiliates, with Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thomson (whatever his role is!) at the top of the list. We have proudly held to account ABC and George Slopadopoulos, CBS and 60 Minutes, The Fake Pulitzer Prizes, and many others who deal in, and push, disgusting LIES, and even FRAUD, to the American People. This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media. I hope Rupert and his "friends" are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
The president's history with Epstein has received heightened scrutiny in recent days, amid demand for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its full files on the late sex offender. The two men were publicly associated with each other in the 1990s, up until a reported falling out over a business deal in 2004. Epstein was first arrested for sex crimes two years later.
Shortly after leaving the Trump administration earlier this year, Elon Musk, the richest man on Earth, claimed on his social media platform X that the president "is in the Epstein files" and "that is the real reason they have not been made public."
After congressional Republicans repeatedly blocked a measure that would force the DOJ to release all Epstein files while protecting victims early this week, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act and warned that if it is not considered by the House of Representatives within seven legislative days, a discharge petition will be circulated.
Late Thursday, after the Journal report was published, Trump said in a Truth post: "Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!"
In a post on X, Bondi said, "President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts."
Trump's suit against the Journal comes as CBS parent company Paramount is under fire for its $16 million settlement with the Republican, who filed suit over the media organization's handling of a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, last year's Democratic presidential candidate, before the November election.
Among the critics framing that deal as a "big fat bribe" intended to secure federal approval of Paramount's pending merger with Skydance is late-night host Stephen Colbert, who announced Thursday that CBS has canceled his show following his recent commentary. The network's claim that it was a financial, not political, decision has been met with widespread skepticism.
"It's pretty obvious why Paramount chose to surrender to Trump," U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a Friday statement. "The Redstone family, the major owners of the company, is in line to receive $2.4 billion from the sale of Paramount to Skydance, but they can only receive this money if the Trump administration approves this deal."
Tying the end of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" to congressional Republicans' attack on funding for NPR and PBS, the DOJ targeting Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Trump's threats to oust Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Sanders declared that "this is what the march toward authoritarianism looks like."
The Paramount settlement followed one in Trump's case against ABC—which last December agreed to pay $15 million and release a note of regret after anchor and political commentator George Stephanopoulos said Trump had been found "liable for rape" of writer E. Jean Carroll. A federal jury found him civilly liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but not rape.
Sanders and several other critics have warned that the media "succumbing to pressure" from Trump sets "an incredibly dangerous precedent."
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Ex-EPA Staff Warn Trump Job Cuts 'Leave Communities Unprotected'
"This does not save taxpayers money; it simply shifts costs to hospitals, families and communities left to bear the health and economic consequences of increased pollution and weakened oversight."
Jul 18, 2025
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that it will reduce its workforce by more than 3,700 and abolish its stand-alone science branch, moves that one group of former EPA officials warned will "gut" research and enforcement and "leave communities unprotected."
The EPA said the personnel cuts—which will be achieved via layoffs, voluntary early retirements, and other measures—will deliver $748.8 millions in savings.
"Under President [Donald] Trump's leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. "This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars."
However, the Environmental Protection Network—an advocacy group of over 650 former EPA career staff and political appointees—said the move "signals a systematic dismantling of the agency's ability to protect public health and the environment."
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former EPA principal deputy assistant administrator for science, said that "today's cuts dismantle one of the world's most respected environmental health research organizations."
She continued:
EPA's science office has long been recognized internationally for advancing public health protections through rigorous science. Reducing its workforce under the guise of cost savings is both misleading and dangerous. This does not save taxpayers money; it simply shifts costs to hospitals, families, and communities left to bear the health and economic consequences of increased pollution and weakened oversight.
"The people of this country are not well served by these actions," Orme-Zavaleta added. "They are left more vulnerable."
Environmental Protection Network senior policy adviser Jeremy Symons said, "These layoffs are targeted to do maximum long-term damage to the Environmental Protection Agency because polluter lobbyists are calling the shots."
"This administration claims to champion transparency, but there is nothing transparent about how these cuts are being executed," Symons added. "This is not honest government. It's a deliberate strategy to shrink the agency's capacity while shielding that reality from public view because 9 out of 10 Americans oppose cuts to EPA."
Friday's EPA announcement follows other cuts at the agency amid the Trump administration's evisceration of the federal government, spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Zeldin has boasted of canceling billions of dollars worth of green grants and ordering the closure of every environmental justice office nationwide. Amid a worsening planetary emergency, Zeldin also bragged about "driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion."
An appropriations bill currently before Congress proposes slashing EPA funding by 23%.
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50+ Dems Slam Rubio Plan to Burn 500 Metric Tons of Emergency Food Aid
"This action is not only morally indefensible, but also wasteful, strategically shortsighted, and completely counter to the entirety of your work while in the Senate."
Jul 18, 2025
More than 50 congressional Democrats on Friday condemned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's decision to withhold and destroy nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food aid for Afghanistan and Pakistan—a move that came a month after the Trump administration's State Department abolished all overseas positions at the United States Agency for International Development.
The USAID emergency food aid—which has been stored in a warehouse in Dubai for months and will expire before the end of July—is enough to feed around 1.5 million children for a week. The aid consists of high energy biscuits that are used primarily to satisfy the immediate nutritional needs of children enduring food crises. It is now set to be incinerated.
"This action is not only morally indefensible, but also wasteful, strategically shortsighted, and completely counter to the entirety of your work while in the Senate," the Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to Rubio.
"Given the alarming rates of food insecurity and famine in regions like Gaza and Sudan, the decision to burn lifesaving aid produced by American farmers and paid for by American tax dollars amounts to a tragic abdication of our global humanitarian responsibilities and hurts our own global interests," the letter asserts.
Secretary Rubio is planning to withhold 500 metric tons of vital food aid that could feed 1.5 million starving children… and then incinerate the food once it expires. UNACCEPTABLE!
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— Rep. Mark Pocan (@pocan.house.gov) July 18, 2025 at 12:55 PM
"We are also alarmed by reports indicating that internal USAID memos requesting urgent approval to move the biscuits went unanswered for months," the lawmakers said. "If accurate, this speaks to a systemic breakdown in communication and leadership that has paralyzed America's food aid delivery systems."
"The United States has long led the world in humanitarian assistance, not only as a matter of compassion but also as a cornerstone of global stability and diplomacy," the letter concludes. "Destroying aid that could save lives undermines that legacy and damages our standing in the international community. We urge you to immediately prioritize the distribution of all remaining and viable food assistance stockpiles. American leadership demands nothing less."
Rubio's decision comes a month after the secretary of state ordered the abolition of all overseas USAID positions amid the Trump administration's downsizing and elimination of the agency, one of many targeted by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, formerly led by multibillionaire Elon Musk.
As Common Dreams reported in May, 66,000 tons of food—including grains, high-energy biscuits, and vegetable oil—were already mouldering in USAID warehouses.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce attempted to justify Rubio's decision during a Thursday press conference.
"If something is expired, we will destroy it. It's a matter of whether or not it's safe to distribute," she said, adding that 500 metric tons amounts to "less than 1%" of all annual U.S. food aid.
"We, as an example, distribute roughly 1 million metric tons of food aid every year, which is reflective of the American people's generosity," Bruce said.
While many observers expressed surprise over the impending destruction of so much food aid, some contended that it tracks with the Trump administration's wider attitudes toward poor people.
"Republicans don't care if American children starve," said podcast host Lana Quest, "so why would they care about famine in other countries?"Keep ReadingShow Less
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