The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army will host almost a dozen public meetings from September through Thanksgiving to vet the controversial Waters of the U.S. rule that greatly expanded the EPA’s clean water jurisdiction under the Obama administration.
“EPA is committed to an open and transparent process for reviewing the definition of ‘waters of the United States,'” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. The rule, sometimes called the “puddle” rule, expanded the definition of waterways to include small streams and even ditches, greatly increasing EPA’s jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act to cover private land owners such as farmers and ranchers. The rule also makes it more difficult for developers, miners and oil and natural gas drillers to operate.
“Receiving input from across the country will help us make informed decisions as we move through our two-step process that will return power to the states and to provide regulatory certainty to our nation’s farmers and businesses,” Pruitt said.
EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have jurisdiction under the Waters of the U.S. regulation. They will hold 11 sessions to give states, land owners and a number of other groups “an opportunity to provide recommendations on a revised definition of ‘waters of the United States,'” the EPA said.
The WOTUS review was initiated in February through an executive order signed by President Trump starting a two-prong process to review and revise the Obama-era regulation.
“The recommendations gathered through these stakeholder sessions, in addition to the feedback the agencies are hearing through ongoing outreach to state, local and tribal governments, will help inform the step two rulemaking, which would revise the definition of ‘waters of the United States’ under the Clean Water Act,” the EPA said.
Beginning Sept. 19, the agencies will hold nine two-hour teleconferences that are tailored to specific sectors such as mining, construction, livestock and agricultural producers.
It will hold one meeting for the general public, followed by “one in-person session for small entities.” The Sept. 19 meeting will address small entities, which includes “small businesses, small organizations and small governmental jurisdictions,.” The individual face-to-face meetings with small entities will be held in Washington Oct. 23.
Meetings on Sept. 26 and Oct. 3 will address environmental and conservation groups, which includes hunters and anglers, the EPA said.
The sector meetings will take place through the middle of November. The final meeting on Nov. 21 will be held with the general public.
Formal comments on revising the regulation will be taken through Nov. 28.
