EPA Chief Says New WOTUS Definition Nearly Complete

The Trump administration has nearly finalized a much-awaited revised definition of which waterways are subject to the agency's jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA), Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said this week.The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently reviewing the proposal and EPA hopes to publish it for public comment by the end of November, Wheeler told attendees of the National Chicken Council's annual conference in Washington, D.C.Wheeler said the new definition of "navigable waters" will be consistent with the views of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and will make clear that federal jurisdiction under the law "only includes relatively permanent waters and wetlands with a continuous surface connection to relatively permanent waters."The new definition is likely to draw support from farmers and developers who have long been frustrated with the EPA's effort to define which waters may be subject to federal permitting requirements under the CWA.Agricultural interests, pesticide manufacturers, homebuilders and other industry groups say the Obama-era WOTUS rule illegally expanded federal authority. The National Association of Manufacturers filed suit to block the rule, as did attorneys general from 30 states."The previous administration's 2015 rule wasn’t about water quality, it was about power," he told attendees of the NCC conference. "Power in the hands of the federal government, power over all of you."The new definition will clarify the question of jurisdiction, he said, adding that critics fail to realize the reach of state oversight of U.S. waters.