After years of controversy and litigation, the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) met its end last year by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). SCOTUS’ WOTUS decision received praise from many agricultural stakeholders, including the Georgia Farm Bureau. The decision means that current water regulation in the United States has reverted back to the pre-2015 WOTUS definition and any updates will have to be redone.
To that end, the EPA and the Department of the Army – as the parent department of the Army Corps – announced their schedule for initial public meetings over the next few weeks. Meetings will be virtual, beginning August 18. This further action is the result of the Biden administration reviewing the Trump administration’s Navigable Water Protection Rule – put into place following the overturning of WOTUS.
“After reviewing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule as directed by President Biden, the EPA and Department of the Army have determined that this rule is leading to significant environmental degradation,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “We are committed to establishing a durable definition of ‘waters of the United States’ based on Supreme Court precedent and drawing from the lessons learned from the current and previous regulations, as well as input from a wide array of stakeholders, so we can better protect our nation’s waters, foster economic growth, and support thriving communities.”
In short, the previous WOTUS regulation went too far and drew criticism from a range of stakeholders that said qualifying waters should not be included in the federal regulation. Now the Biden administration is saying the NWPR does not go far enough. According to the EPA, states, native American tribes, local governments and non-governmental organizations are seeing destructive impacts to critical bodies of water under the new NWPR rule. The EPA points out a particular problem in arid states, like New Mexico and Arizona, where some 1,500 streams that were assessed were found outside of the federal rule. More than 300 projects would have required additional permitting under the WOTUS system but no longer do under the NWPR.
“Communities deserve to have our nation’s waters protected. However, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule has resulted in a 25 percentage point reduction in determinations of waters that would otherwise be afforded protection,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jaime A. Pinkham. “Together, the Department of the Army and EPA will develop a rule that is informed by our technical expertise, is straightforward to implement by our agencies and our state and Tribal co-regulators, and is shaped by the lived experience of local communities.”
To see the full list of meetings or find out more:
