The Rundown
- EPA wants to increase the biofuels mandate to produce more American energy.
- House passes bill to rescind already approved USAID funding.
- House Republicans introduce 15 bills to change Clean Water Act permitting.
- EPA financial advisory board will hold a public meeting to discuss its water affordability report.
- BLM says a 5,000-well oil and gas project in Wyoming will not significantly deplete groundwater.
- BLM restarts environmental review of a contentious water-supply pipeline in southwestern Utah.
- Commerce Department terminates expert advisory panels on climate data and marine fisheries.
And lastly, President Trump rescinds an agreement on Columbia River hydropower operations.
“USDA and EPA have never been more aligned on the need for more American grown biofuels…America’s national security depends on our energy security, and biofuels are a crucial asset that brings more jobs and helps farmers in rural America.” – Statement from Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, about the administration’s proposal to increase the biofuels mandate.
By the Numbers
14: Federal advisory committees officially terminated by the Commerce Department, including those on climate data and marine fisheries. The committees are composed of outside experts that advise the government on policy. The climate data committee was established only seven months ago. But the marine fisheries committee has been around since 1971.
News Briefs
Biofuels Boost
The EPA is proposing changes to the biofuels mandate that would result in increases in U.S. corn and soybean production for energy consumption.
By artificially raising demand for those commodities, the mandate has led to increased water use in the water-stressed High Plains and contributed to wetland losses in the Upper Midwest.
The proposal is for a 7.5 percent increase in total renewable fuel production volumes in 2026, more than doubling the percent increase from 2024 to 2025. Biomass-based diesel would increase by nearly 33 percent. The EPA also wants to decrease the value of imports used as feedstocks, which would boost domestic production.
In its regulatory analysis, the EPA acknowledges that because of an increase in corn and soybean production “there will likely be some increased irrigation pressure on water resources.”
However, the analysis describes these damages to soil and water quality, wetlands, and water availability in words, not numbers.
The most thorough assessment of the consequences of biofuels on land, water, and air is the EPA’s third report to Congress, from February. It noted that the biofuels mandate was an “additional strain on already strained ecosystems.”
Water Bills in Congress
House Republicans introduced 15 bills to speed up and shrink the Clean Water Act permitting process.
The bills address the scope of state permitting reviews, water pollution limits, the length of judicial review, and entities that are excluded from review.
USAID Budget Recession Passes House
By just two votes, the House approved a resolution to pull back foreign aid funding that Congress already approved.
Among the USAID targets are $1.7 billion in the Economic Support Fund, which has been used for climate projects; $125 million in the Clean Technology Fund; and $496 million from international disaster assistance.
Yet the largest line item is $2.5 billion for development assistance, a catchall category from which water, sanitation, and hygiene funding is drawn.
The recession process is the legal way in which an administration can cut funding that is already in the budget.
The $9.4 billion package must now pass the Senate.
Groundwater Analysis for Wyoming Oil and Gas
The Bureau of Land Management said that, after additional analysis, a 5,000-well oil and gas project in eastern Wyoming will not significantly pollute or deplete groundwater in the area.
The 1.5-million-acre Converse County Project was approved at the end of the first Trump administration, but has been paused by a lawsuit. Two conservation groups filed the suit after tribes and ranchers raised objections to the project, including its water use.
As part of those proceedings, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had ordered the revised analysis of groundwater impacts.
The BLM says that a supplemental environmental impact statement is not necessary.
In context: Energy Companies Eye Big Oil and Gas Expansion in Wyoming
Columbia River Agreement Rescinded
President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to rescind a 2023 agreement over the Columbia River, a move that likely signals a return to litigation over the contested Pacific Northwest waterway.
The $1 billion agreement between federal agencies, states, and tribes offered funding for salmon restoration and promised renewable energy for tribes. It paused a lawsuit over the operation of federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers while the parties pursued a long-term solution.
The Biden administration appeared open to breaching four dams on the lower Snake River, which are at the center of the debate. Trump’s memo throws cold water on that idea, calling dam breaching “reckless acts” that put fish over energy production.
Studies and Reports
South Carolina Water Infrastructure Program
South Carolina met two criteria for managing its Clean Water State Revolving Fund, but it failed on two others, according to an audit by the EPA Office of the Inspector General.
The fund is the state-federal partnership that provides grants and low-interest infrastructure loans. South Carolina had the financial and organizational structure, but not enough well-trained staff. Also, not all the state’s communities have the resources to access the program.
Sewage Pollution in Southern California
CDC researchers returned to the Tijuana River Valley, along the U.S.-Mexico border, to continue studying how sewage pollution that enters the river from Mexico affects human health in the region, according to Border Report.
On the Radar
Utah Groundwater Pipeline
The Bureau of Land Management has restarted an environmental review of a contentious water-supply pipeline in arid southwestern Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
The Pine Valley Water Supply project would pump groundwater from Beaver County into higher-growth Iron County but it has encountered local opposition.
In context: Big Pipelines, an Old Pursuit, Still Alluring in Drying West
Nevada Gold Mine EIS
The Bureau of Land Management published the final environmental impact statement for a proposed open-pit gold mine in northern Nevada.
The Spring Valley mine would remove at least three springs from the area, while a lowered water table due to the mine would impact 20 to 30 more.
Water Affordability Webinar
The EPA advisory group that published recommendations on national water affordability will hold a webinar on June 26 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern to discuss its findings.
The Environmental Financial Advisory Board published its report in January. The board noted that affordability is more than customer assistance programs. It also means saving money in capital expenditures and operations, as well as designing water rates that alleviate financial burdens on low-income households.
Register for the webinar here.
Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.