New President Donald Trump’s plan for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes eliminating the Waters of the U.S. rule. The Trump administration calls WOTUS a burdensome regulation that is “harmful and unnecessary.” A leaked agency action plan for the administration lists WOTUS, along with Clean Air Act greenhouse gas regulations, the Clean Power Plan and the Total Maximum Daily Load Requirements in the Chesapeake Bay area as targeted initiatives to stop. Trump also wants to change how the agency uses science, saying unless major reforms are achieved, “the EPA will be able to return to its bad old ways” once a different administration takes office. Meanwhile, WOTUS will head to the Supreme Court this year to determine whether jurisdiction to hear a challenge to the lawfulness of the rule lies in the courts of appeal or federal district courts. The Trump administration could choose not to defend WOTUS in court, effectively killing enforcement of the rule.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.