041 The Erickson Report, Page 1: Good News

041 The Erickson Report, Page 1: Good News

On October 22, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California rejected an attempt by the Blahden administration to keep in place a Tweetie-pie-era Clean Water Act rule which environmental and Indigenous advocates argued would have "devastated" states' ability to manage their rivers.

The June 2020 rule changed the Clean Water Act certification process to allow federal agencies to approve large projects such as fossil fuel pipelines, hydroelectric dams, industrial plants, and wetland developments over the objections of states and Native American tribes along with establishing with a one-year deadline for permitting decisions and limiting the factors that state and tribal officials could consider.

Washington Attorney General and co-plaintiff Bob Ferguson welcomed the ruling, saying the Trump administration "did everything it could to yield to the interests of polluting industries." And now - my words, not his - over the objections of the Blahden administration, that rule is no more.

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On October 29, the Supreme Court refused to block a vaccine requirement imposed on Maine health care workers, the latest defeat for opponents of vaccine mandates.

The Court had previously rejected challenges of vaccine requirements for New York City teachers and Indiana University staff and students, but this was the first time it had ruled on a statewide mandate.

The mandate went into effect on October 1 but the state gave until October 29 before it would be enforced to give time for people to get the shot.

As of November 2, Maine's four largest hospital systems reported that between 96 and 100 percent of employees were either vaccinated or had a valid medical exemption.