Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt issued a proposed rule on Friday to clarify the administration’s intent of repealing the Obama-era Waters of the U.S. rule, which is one of the pillars of Trump’s deregulation agenda.
“We are making it clear that we are proposing to permanently and completely repeal the 2015 WOTUS rule and keep the pre-2015 regulatory framework in place as we work on a new, improved WOTUS definition,” Pruitt said in a statement.
Friday’s proposal requests comment on the legal basis of the 2015 Obama-era WOTUS rule, which EPA and the Army Corps “believe has led to uncertainty and confusion across the country,” EPA said in a statement. EPA and Army Corps proposed the rule together.
The “supplemental proposal” on Friday would give more time for the public and industry to provide feedback on the administration’s plan to roll back the previous administration’s water rule.
The rule, commonly referred to as WOTUS, greatly expanded EPA’s jurisdiction over waterways by broadening the definition of navigable waters to include drainage ditches and livestock watering holes.
Pruitt’s initial proposal to change and repeal the water rule’s definition was made in July 2017. Under that initial proposal, the EPA and the Army Corps would enforce the water regulations under the older, limited definition of waterways, which included primarily large bodies of water like streams and rivers. While enforcing the pre-2015 water regulations, it would work through the process of repealing the Obama definition of navigable waters.
But based on the feedback EPA received last July, the agency has found it necessary to add another opportunity to comment on the rule “to clarify that the agencies are proposing to permanently repeal the 2015 rule in its entirety,” according to an EPA statement.
“This supplemental proposal reflects our continued commitment to common sense in the rulemaking process,” said R.D. James, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
Pruitt sent the proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget two weeks ago for review, calling it “a much more reasonable” WOTUS rule.
“Time to provide farmers & ranchers nationwide w/ regulatory certainty!” Pruitt tweeted on June 15.
