Baker Botts Partner Alex Dunn was a panelist on Environmental Justice and the Clean Water Act for the Clean Water Act 2023: Law and Regulation.

The panel included the following:

• Summary of recent developments in federal EJ policy affecting CWA programs (e.g., Justice40, EPA efforts at national and regional level, newly-proposed CWA regulation change prescribing how state WQS must protect tribal reserved rights)

• How do higher-level developments affect the strategies and tactics of EJ practitioners (e.g., community lawyers)?

• What are some of the key EJ-related opportunities arising from influx of resources allocated through IIJA/IRA? (e.g., opportunities for facilitating NPDES compliance while addressing historic underinvestment in EJ and Tribal communities through water infrastructure upgrades)

• The importance of building partnerships for effective EJ advocacy