The Nickel Report

On November 20, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of the Army issued a notice of a proposed rulemaking to update the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act for consistency with the US Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency and to clarify key terms for implementation.

On June 30, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum titled Simplifying the Funding of Energy Infrastructure and Critical Mineral and Material Projects. Building on earlier presidential actions, including the Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production executive order that called for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and other agencies to facilitate financing for mineral production projects, this Presidential Memorandum aims to enhance efficiency and simplify the funding process for energy infrastructure and critical mineral and material projects by streamlining federal funding applications.