Tag: WOTUS

Administration Announces Much Improved WOTUS Permit Program

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by LICA-National

The Trump Administration this week announced the release of revised regulations determining which wetlands and other bodies of water qualify as a Water of the United States and are therefore subject to federal permit requirements before construction and other land improvement activities can proceed. The rules will be jointly issued by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers establishing, according to an EPA release, a “durable, common-sense definition of ‘water of the United States’” under the Clean Water Act. The rule seeks to codify the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision which found that “adjacent wetlands” under the law are those wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to bodies already considered "waters of the United States.” The wetlands must be “indistinguishable” from those waters to be considered jurisdictional.


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Administration Initiates WOTUS Definition Reform

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by LICA-National

The seemingly never ending battle to bring reasonable rules to the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) took a positive turn when EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency had worked with the Army Corps of Engineers on new guidance clarifying the WOTUS definition to comport with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision. In 2023 the court voted 5-4 that not all wetlands should be considered a water of the United States and therefore subject to the regulations implementing the Clean Water Act. Zeldin also announced a comment period to solicit input for developing a final rule.


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Where Things Stand on WOTUS

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by LICA-National

Its been a few months since we talked about WOTUS. In January 2023, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized a new WOTUS rulemaking that replaced the 2020 navigable Waters Protection Rule. In their new rule, the agencies doubled down on the unworkable “significant nexus test” and created more risk and uncertainty for farmers and other landowners. The Farm Bureau and other allies sued the EPA and the Corps over the 2023 WOTUS Rule. District Court rulings have prevented the 2023 Rule from going into effect in 27 states. The litigation is still ongoing, but a May 2023 Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA forced EPA and the Corps to make revisions to their 2023 Rule.

EPA and Army Corps Sign Coordination Memos on WOTUS

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by LICA-National

In September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released two joint coordination memorandums on jurisdictional determinations 1) under the 2023 waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule (as amended in September) and 2) under the “pre-2015 regulatory regime” that is in effect in the 27 states where the Biden Administration’s rule is on hold. The memos outline similar processes for coordination, wherein EPA plays an active role. Neither memo provides insight on how the agencies will determine jurisdiction nor how they will implement the relatively permanent test.


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Farm Bureau Reacts to WOTUS Action

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by LICA-National

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented on the Biden Administration’s revised Waters of the U.S. Rule.

“EPA had a golden opportunity to write a Waters of the U.S. Rule that’s fair to farmers and stands the test of time, but instead chose to continue government overreach and revise only a small slice of the rule that was rejected by the Supreme Court.

“We’re pleased the vague and confusing ‘significant nexus’ test has been eliminated as the Supreme Court dictated. But EPA has ignored other clear concerns raised by the Justices, 26 states, and farmers across the country about the rule’s failure to respect private property rights and the Clean Water Act.

“Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the resources they’re entrusted with. They deserve a rule that respects farmers as partners in that effort.”