The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers formally proposed their withdrawal of the Obama Administration's controversial water rule on Thursday, marking the end of a years-long effort by a number of groups, including RCRC, to scrap what they say is burdensome federal overreach. 

The proposed rule to withdraw the Waters of the U.S. rule, also called the Clean Water Rule, was unveiled in late June, but had yet to be noticed in the Federal Register, the formal step that triggers the beginning of the public comment period.  The Trump Administration has given the public 30 days to weigh in on the proposed rule, though critics of the repeal effort have called for more time.

The proposed rule would change little on the ground today, since the Obama Administration's water rule only briefly went into effect before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put it on hold nationwide.  The repeal rule is seen as a safety net in case the U.S. Supreme Court determines the 6th Circuit did not have authority over the case and the hold is lifted.  The repeal rule would remove the Obama-era rule from the books and cement the status quo while the Trump Administration works on its own regulation to define which streams and wetlands are subject to federal protection under the Clean Water Act - an effort it has said it plans to unveil in December.