The Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will repeal the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule under the Clean Water Act (CWA). President Trump originally ordered the repeal in a 2017 executive order and was a critic of the Obama-era environmental regulation throughout his 2016 presidential campaign. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the repeal this week and is expected to propose leaner regulations for wetlands before the end of 2019.
Regulations for the implementation of the CWA will return to their pre-2015 rules, prior to the introduction of WOTUS. Environmental groups and state attorneys general immediately opposed the repeal. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra threatened to challenge the ruling. WOTUS has been held up in courts for years and its repeal will not impact the day to day enforcement of the CWA but EPA Administrator Wheeler claims the proposed rule will provide “regulatory certainty” for businesses and local communities.
The EPA is expected to release the replacement regulations for WOTUS before the end of the year. In his 2017 executive order, President Trump directed the EPA to model the new regulations after an opinion from the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The deceased justice followed a more narrow interpretation of the authority granted under CWA which would call for a lighter regulatory approach.