Monday, Aug. 28 is the last day to submit comments on the proposal to rescind the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. Comments can be submitted online at regulations.gov using the Docket ID # EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203-0001 or by mail (see information below).
The proposed rule under consideration would repeal and replace the WOTUS rule, also called the “Clean Water Rule.” The rule came from both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers and was implemented in 2015.
The rule was promptly litigated and various injunctive stays were ordered against it. On Feb. 28 of this year, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order directing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to withdraw the rule.
The proposed rule would replace WOTUS with “a recodification of the regulatory text” that more closely conforms to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in the 2006 Rapanos v. United States case. This opinion gave a far more restricted definition of a “waters of the U.S.” and the authority of the EPA’s Clean Water Act.
As of press, there were over 23,000 comments submitted online. To submit comments by mail, address your comments as follows: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA Docket Center; EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203-0001; Mail Code 28221T; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; Washington, DC 20460. Include the Docket ID in the header of your comment. — WLJ
