US EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Wednesday that he will be revoking the agency’s power to veto at any time permits allowing waste from mining and infrastructure projects to impact waters of the US, including wetlands. Pruitt has directed the agency’s Office of Water to put a proposal together over the next 6 months that will revoke the agency’s authority under the Clean Water Act section 404(c) to veto permits issued for the discharge of dredge or fill material.

Specifically, the proposal will eliminate the EPA’s authority to preemptively or retroactively veto 404 permits, and will require EPA regional administrators to consider environmental assessments or impact statements before seeking to block a permit. The plan will also require the EPA to publish, and seek public comment on, final decisions to stop permits before the decision takes effect.

In his statement, Pruitt said: “The EPA’s regulations should reflect today’s permitting process and modern-day methods and protections, including the robust existing processes under NEPA, which already require federal agencies to consider the environmental and related social and economic effects of their proposed actions while providing opportunities for public review and comment on those evaluations.” Pruitt believes the updated regulations will boost regulatory certainty for investors, landowners, and businesses, while still exercising authority under the Clean Water Act in a careful and prudent manner.

Some environmental groups, including the NRDC, believe this is a specific attempt to revive the Pebble Mine project in Alaska, which is a proposed open-pit mine near the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.

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