Bloomberg Law by Bobby Magill 9/15/2021
• 44 U.S. water determinations issued since Arizona ruling
• Growing concerns that rain could fall under federal control
The National Association of Counties is urging its members across the country to mobilize against a constantly-changing definition of the waters of the U.S., or WOTUS.
The Clean Water Act leaves it to the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to define WOTUS. Like a swinging pendulum, each administration has re-defined federal waters since the George W. Bush administration set its definition in 2008.
The Obama administration expanded the waters under federal jurisdiction in 2015, but the Trump administration issued its own rule in 2020, slashing protections for ephemeral streams and other wetlands. The George W. Bush-era definition is now back in force following an Aug. 30 ruling from an Arizona federal district court that tossed out the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
The Biden administration is now taking steps to write its own WOTUS definition.
More:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/counties-urged-to-mobilize-against-shifting-federal-waters-rule
