Everybody wants clean air and water. But some believe that the only way to achieve these objectives is for the federal government to impose heavy-handed regulation. CEI disagrees with this mindset and to the extent that there is government involvement, there should be a shift away from DC and towards a state and local role on air and water quality issues.

Those closer to environmental problems and impacted by them know these issues better and care about them more than DC bureaucrats pushing one-size-fits-all policies. This vision is in line with what Congress intended when it passed the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Clean Water Act (CWA). Both statutes intended for states to play the primary role on air and water quality. Over the years though, the EPA has usurped state and local power and ignored Congressional intent.

The United States has some of the best air quality in the world, something that sometimes get lost given all of the scare tactics that are disseminated in the media. CEI has been a leader in pushing back against such alarmism, as well as the junk science and regulatory games that the EPA plays to improperly justify costly air quality regulations.

CEI believes that any air quality standards should be informed by sound science and do more good than harm. This is hardly controversial, but it remains an uphill battle with an often out of control EPA.

When it comes to the CWA, there has long been regulatory uncertainty. For decades, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have continued to overreach on what waters are even regulated under the Clean Water Act. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court finally provided some clarification on this key issue in Sackett v. EPA, but the Biden administration is not implementing the opinion properly.

CEI has extensive CWA expertise, especially when it comes to the “Waters of the United States” or WOTUS issue, and is using that expertise to ensure that the federal government follows the law, respects the principles of federalism embedded in the CWA, and provides clear and workable definitions for property owners. This is just part of our CWA work, which also covers issues such as state abuse of the Section 401 certification process and EPA retroactive vetoes of Section 404 permits.

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Daren Bakst

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