WOTUS rule revised

The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule last week that reverts the definition of “Waters of the United States” to its Reagan-era origins.

The EPA revived a 1986 definition because it believes the changes to the definition made by the Obama administration and reversal of changes by the Trump administration had “harmed communities and the nation’s waters.”

The new rule contains some changes and clarifications, including giving Federal protection of large waterways along with the streams and wetlands that are adjacent to them. The final rule includes language stating that protected wetlands must be “reasonably close such that the wetland can influence water quality or quantity” in another protected waterway. No distance limits for protected areas were specified in the measure.

The new rule also maintains the Obama and Trump definitions that ditches without permanent flows of water, waste treatment systems, and artificial lakes or ponds are not subject to federal rules.

The EPA appears to be aiming for a pragmatic definition of protected waters that would end a decade of legal challenges. 

Objections were voiced by several organizations. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture felt the new rules failed to establish clarity for farmers including what is and is not “a navigable water.” The American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association stated in separate releases the new rules would, among other things, continue to create confusion for farmers.

For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs