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EPA/Army Corps send new WOTUS rule to OMB

The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have taken the next step towards redefining “waters of the U.S.”—also known as WOTUS.

The two agencies have sent a new proposed WOTUS rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, during a stop in Lincoln, Nebraska Thursday, said EPA and the Corps “went back to the basics” on what the WOTUS rule should be.

“We’ve not reimagined our authority under the Clean Water Act,” Pruitt said. “We’ve actually went to the text of the statute and gone to the case law and asked ourselves: What did Congress intend with respect to what a ‘waters of the United States’ is—and I will tell they did not intend it to be a puddle, a dry creek bed, or an ephemeral drainage ditch.”

Pruitt says the WOTUS rewrite is an important step towards answering President Trump’s call to keep waters pollution free while promoting economic growth and minimizing regulatory uncertainty.

Once the OMB review is complete the document will be released for public comment. No target date has been announced for completing the review.

Brownfield’s Larry Lee contributed to this story

 

AUDIO: Comments from Scott Pruitt, regarding WOTUS, during his stop in Lincoln, Nebraska