EPA puts WOTUS on hold, to rework rule

By |  February 3, 2018

EPA’s original WOTUS rule would have “radically expanded federal jurisdiction over dry areas and isolated waters,” according to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

Implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which was to take effect later this year, is now officially delayed until 2020.

According to the New York Times, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt filed legal documents to suspend the rule for two years. The EPA is now tasked with developing a new version of the rule. The next version is expected to have more manageable requirements.

“The 2015 WOTUS rule developed by the Obama administration will not be applicable for the next two years, while we work through the process of providing long-term regulatory certainty across all 50 states about what waters are subject to federal regulation,” Pruitt says.

According to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit halted the implementation of the WOTUS rule soon after its release in 2015. The U.S. Supreme Court recently determined that the Sixth Circuit lacked authority to issue that stay, though. Accordingly, the rule would have soon gone into effect in some states without this latest action by EPA, the association reports.

Kevin Yanik

About the Author:

Kevin Yanik is editor-in-chief of Pit & Quarry. He can be reached at 216-706-3724 or kyanik@northcoastmedia.net.

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