A federal rule about waterways could soon be history. The EPA rule put even small creeks and farm ponds under federal regulatory jurisdiction, and many have called it an overreach.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 28 geared towards “restoring the rule of law, federalism and economic growth by reviewing the WOTUS rule.” And according to a press release by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday, June  27, the EPA, Department of Army, and Army Corps of Engineers (the agencies) are proposing a rule to rescind the Clean Water Rule and re-codify the regulatory text that existed prior to 2015 defining "waters of the United States" or WOTUS. 

The decision to rescind the Clean Water Rule and redefine WOTUS has been met with both approval and opposition. “WOTUS is one of the biggest over-reaches by the federal government in United States History,” Camden County Presiding Commissioner Greg Hasty said of the rule.

Hasty pointed out that when a person purchases property at the Lake of the Ozarks, under the normal laws of the state, they know their rights, but this rule has put them in the position to be denied a permit after the fact. 

He continued, “The EPA does not have the authority to change the definition of Waters of the United States and the EPA has vastly expanded its authority beyond the limits approved by Congress and affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The federal government is reaching back into areas by the signature of a pen on a document (during the Obama administration) and taking back things, they have already given away. Our entire system of land is based on a controlled system of how those rights are acquired, or lost. The authority over land was given to the state and that leaves our state supreme court to decide these things. This is like the FERC issue which took away the rights of property owners, without just compensation.”

A Farm Bureau press release stated, “the WOTUS rule grants regulatory control over virtually all waters, assuming a scope of authority Congress has not authorized. The rule effectively eliminates any constraints the term “navigable” previously imposed on the Corps’ and EPA’s CWA jurisdiction, and the list of waters deemed “non-navigable” is exceptionally narrow--providing that few, if any waters, would fall outside federal control. This kind of shift in policy means that EPA and the Corps can regulate any or all waters found within a state, no matter how small or seemingly unconnected to a federal interest.”

But some environmentalists have praised the rule, arguing it is necessary to regulate the stream, river, and lake watersheds and to protect wildlife and human drinking water.

The rule especially affected Missouri’s farmers and ranchers, because it allowed the federal government to regulate almost any body of water on farmland, no matter how small or unrelated to a federal interest, even a small pond dug for cattle.

 

“This will be the removal of a gigantic burden that never should have been allowed,” Hasty said. “The way the law was written, if you wanted to replace a culvert in Camden County you needed a federal permit to do so. It has caused huge delays and if the federal government did not like something, this gave them the power to stop anyone, from doing anything.”

There currently are 18 federal lawsuits and 22 federal appeals court petitions in various districts over WOTUS. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a nationwide stay on October 9, 2015 against WOTUS’s enforcement under the Clean Water Act. The case was appealed and the Supreme Court took the case a few days before the Trump Inauguration.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Douglas Lamont, signed a proposed regulatory rescission of WOTUS. The next step will be to publish the rescission in the Federal Register and then there will be a 30-day public comment period to “review and revise the definition of “waters of the United States.”


1
0
1
0
0

(0 Ratings)