WOTUS 2019 Timeline

The Trump administration's regulatory agenda released this week indicates they will not issue a new waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule until March 2019.The agency is continuing work on a parallel process to replace the rule and will release a draft version of the replacement within the coming days, said acting chief Andrew Wheeler. It is possible the federal courts hearing challenges to the 2015 WOTUS rule will act to overturn it before the EPA’s repeal is actually complete next year, said Ellen Steen, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s general counsel.EPA acknowledged that the court decision from earlier this year means WOTUS is in effect in some states but not others. Agency spokeswoman Tricia Lynn said the EPA is working with the Army Corps of Engineers, which also handles water jurisdiction issues, to answer questions on a “case-by-case basis” about whether a body of water is covered by federal law.“The agencies recognize the uncertainty this decision has created and are committed to working closely with states and stakeholders to provide updated information on an ongoing basis about which rules are in place in which states,” Lynn told Bloomberg.