Today, EPA and the Department of the Army finalized a rule to repeal the previous administration’s federal regulation of U.S. waters and recodify the regulatory text that previously existed. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler stated, “Today’s Step 1 action fulfills a key promise of President Trump and sets the stage for Step 2 – a new WOTUS definition that will provide greater regulatory certainty for farmers, landowners, home builders, and developers nationwide.”
With this final repeal, the agencies will implement the pre-2015 regulations, which are currently in place in more than half of the states, informed by applicable agency guidance documents and consistent with Supreme Court decisions and agency practice. The final rule takes effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Additional information is available at: http://www.epa.gov/wotus-rule.