EPA to Finalize WOTUS Repeal in April

The EPA plans to complete formal repeal of the Waters of the U.S. Rule in April. Politico reports an updated regulatory agenda from the White House also shows a replacement rule is scheduled for proposal in May. A final version of the rule is not expected until June 2019.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year repealing WOTUS, a move EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told the American Farm Bureau Federation at the time would bring certainty in water regulation for farmers and ranchers.  AFBF has been calling on the EPA to “ditch the rule” since it was proposed during the Obama administration.

National Corn Growers Association public policy director Ethan Matthews has previously said it was important that the new rule doesn’t say “everything under the sun” falls under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, noting that corn growers farm over 90 million acres in the country, meaning they have a big role to play in the nation’s water quality.

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