On April 21, the Trump administration's Navigable Waters Protection rule, which narrows the number of streams and wetlands that are protected under the Clean Water Act and revises the definition of what constitutes a federally protected water body or wetlands, officially became final with its publication in the Federal Register.
The procedural step begins the 60-day clock before the new definition goes into effect, and is likely to set off a wave of lawsuits from environmental groups, blue states and others seeking to challenge its validity in court.
The Navigable Waters Protection Rule replaces the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule, also known as the Waters of the US (WOTUS) rule, which some groups business groups criticized, claiming it was overly broad in its scope. However, the new rule goes further than simply rewriting the Obama-era protections; it also scraps certain Reagan-era regulations. The final rule that the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly released in late January narrows Clean Water Act protections to waters that essentially flow year round or intermittently. It excludes isolated wetlands and ephemeral streams that were part of the 2015 WOTUS rulemaking.
With the publication of this rule, which began three years ago, the re-write will be complete. Democratic-led states and separate coalitions of national environmental groups plan to challenge the new rule in court. Some groups are concerned with protection of endangered species, while others feel the re-write does not go far enough and continues to tie the hands of farmers and ranchers. In addition, some related lawsuits are still pending. (Bloomberg BNA, 4/20/20)
