A U.S. district judge has rebuffed Trump-era limits on the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA), vacating a rule that the Biden administration had already targeted for revision as part of broader efforts to strengthen federal environmental protections.

An order handed down by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona Monday vacated and remanded the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), sending the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers back to the drawing board.

The NWPR, finalized by the Trump administration last year to narrow the definition of what constitutes “waters of the United States,” or what bodies of water fall under CWA jurisdiction, had been seen as favorable for Lower 48 oil and gas operators.

District Judge...