POTUS looks at WOTUS

And it’s been a while since… we mentioned WOTUS. 

The Trump administration thought it was time for a WOTUS (Waters of the United States) review as well.

Last Wednesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced an attempt to write a new WOTUS rule to “make sure we are fixing WOTUS once and for all.” According to Zeldin, the new rule will follow the Supreme Court ruling on Sackett v EPA. 

Refresh: WOTUS guides how to implement the Clean Water Act. It dictates whether farmers, landowners, and businesses have to take out expensive permits before they begin projects. 

Sackett v EPA majorly narrowed the definition of WOTUS by limiting the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA “to regulating only wetlands and waterways with a continuous surface connection to a larger body of water.”

Rewind: The Biden administration expanded the EPA’s definition of the rule. WOTUS lingo has flip flopped since the ruling first changed in 2015 under Obama.

How it’s going: The EPA hasn’t implemented the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Sackett v EPA case. It’s kind of a big deal that we know which waters face federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

Soundbite: “The previous administration’s definition of ‘waters of the United States’ placed unfair burdens on the American people and drove up the cost of doing business. Our goal is to protect America’s water resources consistent with the law of the land while empowering American farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, and families to help power the great American comeback.” — Zeldin

Power to the people: The EPA will host a series of listening sessions in late March-April to hear from stakeholders. Two will be open to everyone, one to states, one to tribes, one for industry and ag stakeholders, and one for environmental and conservation stakeholders. You can learn more about the listening series here.