Governor Gordon Applauds Supreme Court Ruling

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon on Thursday applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate the Trump-era Clean Water Act Section 401 permitting rule pending the outcome of litigation in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling from a lower bench and put back into place an EPA rule that prohibits consideration of issues not directly related to water quality when permitting pipelines, dams and other federally approved projects. Wyoming is part of a coalition of states that petitioned the Supreme Court to reinstate the rule.

Gordon, in a statement released Thursday, said it is clear that the Congressional purpose of the Clean Water Act is to protect and maintain water quality, and Wyoming has been adversely impacted by other states’ misapplication of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act in their attempts to block new pipelines and coal export terminals. Gordon said he has long advocated for a modernized approach that ties the scope of Section 401 review back to water quality-related impacts and the Trump rule did just that. As one of the states who sought and obtained this stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, Gordon said he looks forward to a favorable outcome from the appeal.