President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday exempted federal firefighting activities, including the aerial use and discharge of fire retardant, from federal, state, interstate, and local requirements on the control of water pollution. The exemption runs for one year, beginning Nov. 10, 2026, and ending Nov. 10, 2027.
Trump signed a memorandum to the secretary of the interior, the secretary of agriculture, and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He determined that the exemption is in the paramount interest of the United States. It applies to the United States Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, any other executive departments and agencies, and their contractors.
The exemption covers requirements, administrative authority, process, and sanctions tied to controlling and reducing water pollution. It does not extend to two other provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which the memorandum identifies as sections 1316 and 1317. A White House fact sheet refers to the same statute as the Clean Water Act.
The memorandum says it is not meant to imply that, without this exemption, that law would require the Forest Service or other agencies to obtain permits for the covered operations. It also says the document does not limit other legal requirements that still apply to those agencies and their contractors when they fight fires.
The memorandum states that aspects of the activities are already in court, in Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics v. U.S. Forest Service, a case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. A White House fact sheet said an adverse district court decision now requires a Clean Water Act permit for aerial fire retardant in federal wildland firefighting. The fact sheet said the Forest Service has not obtained a permit because of significant regulatory hurdles.
The White House said the memorandum meets those permitting requirements for a year so firefighters can use aerial retardant during the 2027 fire season. It said the step is intended to protect communities at risk from wildfires and to support action before fires become major disasters. The agriculture secretary is authorized and directed to publish the determination in the Federal Register. The memorandum did not say whether the exemption will be renewed after Nov. 10, 2027.