Biden’s rule on “waters of the United States” placed tremendous burdens on America’s farmers and ranchers, but the Trump administration is going to revise them to mirror the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency ruling.
Last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced EPA will work with the US Army Corps of Engineers to revise “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule resulting in streamlining permitting, cutting compliance costs, and reducing the cost of living.
ASL reported in June of 2023, the Supreme Court handed Chantell and Mike Sackett one of the most stunning and greatest property rights victories in decades. The Sackett ruling overturned what was called the “significant nexus” test and broadened EPA’s jurisdiction under the 1972 Clean Water Act to regulate “those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are navigable ‘waters of the United States.’”
“Our goal is to protect America’s water resources consistent with the law of the land while empowering American farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, and families to help Power the Great American Comeback,” Zeldin said.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins stated: “Farmers and ranchers are the best stewards of the land and need water regulations that are clear and practical, not burdensome.”
The current definition uses the phrase “significant nexus” giving the former EPA tremendous latitude to determine what was regulated or not, even if a wetland wasn’t connected to or contiguous to a navigable body of water. This was the EPA’s and the Biden administration’s attempt to use their broad ruling to regulate millions of acres to fulfill their 30×30 initiative.
The “significant nexus” test gave jurisdiction over 300 million acres of wetlands and “virtually any parcel of land containing a channel or conduit through which rainwater or drainage may occasionally or intermittently flow.”
This rule requires farmers and landowners to secure costly permits before they can pursue a project. The Sacketts were threatened with a fine of $40,000 a day unless they obtained a federal permit because they deposited fill (dirt and gravel) onto their property that constituted an unlawful discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act.
To date, EPA has failed to follow the law and implement the Supreme Court’s holding in the Sackett case and will begin the process of revising the definition of “waters of the United States” with focus on “clarity, simplicity and improvements that will stand the test of time.”
Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) applauded the Trump administration’s EPA for the announcement stating: “[A]s a farmer myself, I’m elated for clarity, reasonableness and fairness that the revised WOTUS rule will bring.”
