The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump on April 20 signed a presidential determination that gives the Air Force’s jet fighter training operations in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada a one-year exemption from specified federal, state, interstate and local requirements tied to the control and abatement of water pollution. The White House said the decision was made under section 313 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which is codified at 33 U.S.C. 1323, and it applies to the Air Force’s jet fighter training operations in those three states. The memorandum says the exemption runs from April 20, 2026, through April 20, 2027. It also says the exemption does not extend to requirements in 33 U.S.C. 1316 and 1317. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/presidential-determination-concerning-the-air-forces-jet-fighter-training-operations-in-idaho-oregon-and-nevada/))

The order is narrower than a blanket waiver. It does not erase the Clean Water Act, and it does not purport to cancel every legal obligation tied to the training sites. Instead, it carves out one set of Air Force operations from a defined category of water-pollution requirements while preserving other statutory provisions and other laws that may still apply. The memorandum also says nothing in it is meant to imply that the Air Force would otherwise need permits for the exempted operations, or to limit enforcement of any other law governing the training missions. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/presidential-determination-concerning-the-air-forces-jet-fighter-training-operations-in-idaho-oregon-and-nevada/))

The White House framed the move as serving the “paramount interest” of the United States, and tied it to Air Force readiness. The document itself also notes that aspects of the operations are the subject of litigation in Oregon Natural Desert Association v. Meink in federal court in Oregon. That means the exemption lands in the middle of a live dispute, not in a vacuum. The practical effect is straightforward enough: for one year, the Air Force gets a narrower regulatory break for those jet training operations, with the administration arguing that national interest justifies it and the order preserving other legal limits on the program. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/presidential-determination-concerning-the-air-forces-jet-fighter-training-operations-in-idaho-oregon-and-nevada/))