AEA Applauds POTUS for Reform of WOTUS

WASHINGTON – This morning, the EPA announced a proposed rulemaking to repeal the 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition under the Clean Water Act. The rule would fully repeal the definition of the Obama administration regarding which waterways and wetlands are to be considered under the Clean Water Act. AEA President Thomas Pyle made the following statement: 

“Historically, the ‘Waters of the United States’ definition has been abused to increase the size and scope of the federal government and violate the property rights of landowners under the guise of protecting our country’s waterways. Despite the Clean Water Act affirming up front the primacy of the states in regulation of water, the scope of the federal government’s jurisdiction has been a source of litigation and controversy for decades. One administration after another, both Republican and Democrat, has sought to invade the states’ proper primacy in local water regulation, and the Supreme Court has rightfully struck down these overly broad definitions.

The 2015 WOTUS definition created by the Obama administration sought to go even further, writing a rule so broad that it effectively stretched federal regulatory power to virtually every bit of water in the country. Unsurprisingly, that rule has remained mired in litigation ever since. Rather than continuing to subject landowners to this uncertainty, the Trump administration is wise to repeal the 2015 rule in order to more accurately conform with the plain text of the the Clean Water Act as well as previous Supreme Court decisions.”

###

For media inquiries, please contact Erin Amsberry
[email protected]