Agencies Move to Rescind Obama’s WOTUS Rule

On June 27, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers proposed to rescind current Clean Water Act rules and re-codify the regulatory text that existed prior to 2015 defining "waters of the United States" (WOTUS). This action is designed to be temporary, pending a second rulemaking in which the agencies will engage in a substantive re-evaluation of the definition of "waters of the United States.”

"We are taking significant action to return power to the states and provide regulatory certainty to our nation's farmers and businesses," said Administrator Scott Pruitt. "This is the first step in the two-step process to redefine [WOTUS] 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."