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Federal policy on the Waters of the United States rule, 2017
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On February 28, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider and rewrite the Waters of the United States rule (WOTUS rule). The WOTUS rule was finalized in 2015 and would have expanded federal jurisdiction over all non-navigable tributaries of navigable waters or interstate waters and all waters adjacent to these tributaries, among other waterways. In October 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit temporarily blocked the rule from going into effect nationwide. On June 27, 2017, the EPA announced it would formally repeal the WOTUS rule and planned to regulate waterways in accordance with an EPA-issued guidance document from 2008.[1][2]
This page tracked major events and policy positions of the Trump administration on the Waters of the United States rule in 2017. Think something is missing? Please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Trump administration 2017 on the WOTUS rule
On February 28, 2017, President Trump signed the executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider and rewrite the Waters of the United States rule, which was finalized in 2015 by the Obama administration. The rule would have expanded federal jurisdiction over all non-navigable tributaries of navigable waters or interstate waters and all waters adjacent to these tributaries, among other waterways. In addition, it would have required private individuals, groups, or businesses to receive a federal permit if their activities could result in discharges of unwanted materials into regulated waters. Before signing the order, Trump said, "The Clean Water Act says that the EPA can regulate navigable waters, meaning waters that truly affect interstate commerce. But a few years ago, the EPA decided that navigable waters can mean nearly every puddle or every ditch on a farmer’s land, or any place else that they decide."[1]
On June 27, 2017, the EPA announced it would formally repeal the WOTUS rule as written by the Obama administration. Regarding the WOTUS rule, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said, "We are taking significant action to return power to the states and provide regulatory certainty to our nation's farmers and businesses. This is the first step in the two-step process to redefine 'waters of the U.S.' and we are committed to moving through this re-evaluation to quickly provide regulatory certainty, in a way that is thoughtful, transparent and collaborative with other agencies and the public." On August 16, 2017, the EPA extended the public comment period on its proposed WOTUS repeal. The comment period ended on September 27, 2017.[2][3]
Overview of the rule
- See also: Waters of the United States rule
In May 2015, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the Waters of the United States rule to clarify the regulatory uncertainty surrounding which bodies of water fall under federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The U.S. Army Corps is responsible for a permit program regulating discharges of unwanted material, commonly known as dredged and fill materials, in wetlands and other waters of the United States. The Corps would determine that for a project involving any discharge of a pollutant into the waters covered under the rule, regardless of the environmental effects of the discharge, a federal permit would be required from the individuals, businesses, or industries involved. Projects exempt from the permit process would include regular farming and ranching activities, such as plowing and harvesting, and maintenance structures, such as maintenance farm roads and irrigation ditches.[4]
On October 9, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit temporarily blocked the rule from going into effect nationwide. In a 2-1 decision, the appellate court stayed the rule, arguing that there was significant legal debate over what waters fall under federal jurisdiction. In addition, the court argued that there is a need to maintain temporary uniformity and clarity of current federal regulations as legal challenges to the Waters of the United States rule proceed. "A stay allows for a more deliberate determination whether this exercise of executive power ... is proper under the dictates of federal law," the court stated. The dissenting judge did not write on the merits of the states' challenge but questioned whether the appellate court had original jurisdiction to hear the case or whether the federal trial courts had jurisdiction.[5]
Support and opposition
Proponents of the rule argue that, while the rule expands the assertion of federal jurisdiction to certain types of waters, the rule does not enlarge federal jurisdiction beyond the Supreme Court’s rulings on jurisdiction. Proponents also argue that such expanded jurisdiction is based on the best available science on the effects of certain waters, such as tributaries, on the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of navigable waters (the waters traditionally regulated under the Clean Water Act). Proponents further argue that the rule would provide clarity and stability to a previously unclear legal landscape involving what waters are federally regulated. Other proponents argue that the rule is necessary to ensure downstream water quality from potential pollutant discharges related to land development or changes.[6][7]
Opponents of the rule argue that the rule’s assertions of jurisdiction over certain waters to be unlawful under the Clean Water Act and Supreme Court precedent. Opponents argue that the rule’s assertion of jurisdiction over all tributaries and the rule’s limitation of federal jurisdiction for non-adjacent waters within specific distances of a regulated water are unauthorized under existing law and court precedent. Opponents cite the Supreme Court's 2006 ruling Rapanos v. United States, a decision which opponents argue found that a broad rule to regulate tributaries would exceed the EPA and the Corps’ authority. Other opponents argue that the rule makes it difficult for ranchers and farmers to determine whether farm ditches, drains, or low areas on farm land may be determined as waters of the United States and would thus grant unilateral federal authority over them.[8][9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Donald Trump waters of the United States rule. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Federal policy on energy and the environment, 2017-2020
- Federal policy on climate change, 2017
- Federal policy on energy, 2017-2018
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Hill, "Trump directs EPA to reconsider Obama water rule," February 28, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Environmental Protection Agency, "EPA, U.S. Army Move to Rescind 2015 'Waters of the U.S.'," June 27, 2017
- ↑ Environmental Protection Agency, "Extension of Comment Period for the Definition of 'Waters of the United States' – Recodification of Pre-existing Rules," August 16, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Clean Water Rule Factsheet," accessed May 28, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Court blocks Obama’s water rule nationwide," October 9, 2015
- ↑ Society of Wetland Scientists, "Endorsement of Amici Curiae Brief of Wetland and Water Scientists in Support of the Clean Water Rule," March 1, 2017
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, "Brief in Support of Respondents and in Support of Upholding the Clean Water Rule," January 20, 2017
- ↑ American Farm Bureau Federation, "Clean Water Act, WOTUS," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ Pacific Legal Foundation, "The Waters of the United States rule: not about water," February 9, 2015
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