Supreme Court scales back clean water protections. What does it mean for California?

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision scaling back federal protections for many wetlands and streams has drawn criticism from scientists and environmental advocates, who say the gutting of safeguards will jeopardize water quality throughout the arid West. To examine the implications of the ruling, The Times spoke with Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, about the potential effects of limiting federal protections under the Clean Water Act and how the board will continue to regulate wetlands and streams under the state’s Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. He said California’s stringent protections will continue to safeguard wetlands and streams, even as the court’s decision narrows the authority of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And so here in the state, we’re fortunate because the board did update its wetlands definition in 2019 to ensure that, because if you really think of it as a circle, the protections in the state waters and the protections that Porter-Cologne affords are larger than what the federal Clean Water Act and purview are.