Before a major court case, E.P.A. Overhaul protections against clean water

A new rule revives an older set of protections for rivers, marshes and waterways, setting aside changes in the Obama and Trump administrations that led to years of legal wrangling.

WASHINGTON - Biden administration working to complete clean water regulations ahead of court ruling supreme that could complicate the government's ability to protect wetlands and other waters.

The Environmental Protection Agency rule, which was finalized on Friday, essentially restores protection for millions of streams, marshes and other water bodies to levels that existed before the Obama administration made major changes in 2015, leading to nearly a decade of political and legal conflict.

Av With the Supreme Court set to rule next year in a major case that could curtail the government's power to regulate wetlands, experts have called the bid the administration's strategic move. Obtaining a ruler on the books now gives the E.P.A. a greater chance of locking in, at least for a while, a broad definition of waterways eligible for federal protection under the Clean Water Act.

"If the Supreme Court decides first, the agency can't finalize a rule that goes beyond that," said Kevin S. Minoli, a partner at Alston & Bird who served as an E.P.A. adviser in the Clinton, Bush, Obama administrations. and Trump. By issuing a rule first, he said, the government has "more room to interpret" the court's decision when it comes.

Under the new rule, the E.P.A. revived a definition of what constitutes "United States waters" that had been in place since 1986, describing the definition as "familiar" and foundational to decades of progress in In a statement, the agency said the changes imposed by the Obama administration, a subsequent reversal eur of the Trump administration and several legal battles between the two, had "harmed the communities and the waters of our country".

The new rule includes some changes, have officials said, including provisions that clarify which water bodies are excluded from the regulations, such as certain agricultural lands. The rule also aims to simplify a test to determine whether a watercourse or wetland is under federal jurisdiction based on its distance from a tributary of a larger body of water.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Radhika Fox, EPA's deputy administrator in the water office, said in an interview that the rule was being finalized on Friday and would not be followed by further revisions. important. While the agency may offer "refinements," she said, the administration is not currently planning a major second phase.

ImageEnvironmentalists outside the Supreme Court building at the start of the Court's last term in October.Credit...Michael Reynolds/EPA, via Shutterstock

M/s. Fox said she hopes the new rule will end battles between environmental groups and farmers, ranchers, fossil fuel developers and real estate agents over what types of waterways qualify for federal protection under the Clean Water Act.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">"I think we've found common ground that creates as much clarity as possible," she said. "Hopefully it's the one that will stand the test of time." She declined to comment on the Supreme Court case, citing ongoing litigation.

The new rule was also widely seen as a test for Michael Regan, the administrator of the E.P.A., who had vowed to develop what he called a "pragmatic" approach to water rules.

The Era Rule Obama had been criticized by Republicans as too restrictive and onerous for business. President Trump repealed it and I...