United States: Water

The EPA has proposed the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6), requiring public water systems to collect data on 30 unregulated contaminants including certain PFAS from 2028 to 2030. Despite petitions from seven state governors and environmental groups, the agency declined to add microplastics to the monitoring list, citing the absence of validated testing methods, though microplastics remain on the draft Contaminant Candidate List 6 for potential future regulation.

While EPA has proposed modifications to certain PFAS drinking water regulations, the PFOA and PFOS limits remain firmly in place, and EPA has signaled that a restarted rulemaking process could yield additional requirements for the rescinded compounds in the future.

Given the deregulatory approach taken by the Trump administration on PFAS maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) (as detailed in Part I) and the money his administration is making available for states (as detailed in Part II), this Part III analyzes the other side of the Trump administration’s environmental federalism – what the states are doing. States have responded in varying ways to the reduced federal action for PFAS MCLs, including some acting directly in response to the Trump administration’s recent MCL changes.

The environmental permitting landscape for data centers is shifting rapidly, with federal and state regulators often pulling in opposite directions. The Trump Administration has moved to accelerate federal environmental review and to open federal lands for data center siting, while states and localities have responded by tightening scrutiny of the energy, water, and land use impacts of these facilities.

The EPA has proposed two significant rules affecting PFAS drinking water standards: one offering water systems an optional two-year extension to comply with PFOA and PFOS limits until 2031, and another rescinding...

For decades, California water suppliers operated under a shield from inverse condemnation claims associated with delivery of water to their customers. Courts had rejected homeowners’ claims associated with pipe corrosion or pinhole leaks...

Grants a temporary exemption for U.S. Air Force jet fighter training operations in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada from certain water pollution control requirements under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published for public comment its draft 2026 reissuance of the Upland Finfish Hatching and Rearing General Permit (Permit), which governs wastewater...

The EPA’s Water Reuse Action Plan 2.0 (“WRAP 2.0”) is a non-regulatory federal initiative relaunched in April 2026. Its goal is to accelerate treated wastewater reuse across industries...