EPA Repeals WOTUS Rule
October 2, 2019
The Environmental Protection Agency officially repealed the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation Sept. 12th, paving the way for that agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to finalize a new rule later this year or early next year. Having filed several comments regarding the need to repeal the 2015 WOTUS rule, NMPF agrees with this long-anticipated development, which will reduce confusion and uncertainty over the Clean Water Act that has lingered for more than four years.
The WOTUS regulation that took effect in 2015 was deeply unpopular among farm groups. Citing the many ambiguities and uncertainties of EPA’s then-proposed rule, NMPF urged EPA to rethink it in 2014, before it was adopted. An NMPF analysis at the time found that the Obama Administration proposal did not meet the requirements of various Supreme Court rulings that were the catalyst for the 2015 regulation.
Repealing the 2015 rule now makes the 1986 WOTUS rule effective for the entire United States.
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