A legal scholar suggests mechanisms for closing loopholes that limit the law’s effectiveness.

Writing in The Regulatory Review, Jackson Nichols outlines an argument by law professor Erin Ryan that the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), in its current state, doesn’t do enough to protect and preserve increasingly threatened U.S. waterways.
“In a recent article, Ryan contends that, by addressing quality alone, federal water governance fails to connect the ‘inextricably intertwined’ elements of water quality and quantity.” Ryan notes that “the regulation of water quantity—how much water remains within a regulated waterway—occurs almost entirely through state allocation laws independent of the CWA,” limiting the impact of the federal law.
For Ryan, “The roadblocks hindering the creation of comprehensive national standards are jurisdictional barriers, historical practice, pure practicality, and constitutional limits on federal power.” Thus, the CWA is ‘necessary but not sufficient’ to protect stretched water supplies and preserve bodies of water to protect from pollution.
Ryan recommends several legal tools that can be used to ‘plug the holes’ in the CWA and make it more effective legislation, including the public trust doctrine and the rights of nature movement, which call for the protection of natural resources for the benefit of both humans and nature. “Both speak to concerns “underserved” by conventional environmental law, both protect values underappreciated in cost-benefit analyses, and both embody last resort arguments in court.”
FULL STORY: Plugging Holes in the Clean Water Act

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.

‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Guts EV Tax Credits
The bill eliminates federal subsidies for electric vehicle buyers and charging stations.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont