It is now being reported that President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to rescind and rewrite an Obama-era environmental rule that critics say gave the U.S. government too much power to regulate waterways nationwide.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency are being told to reconsider the 2015 “Waters of the U.S.” rule. Numerous states sued the EPA and others claiming the new regulation extended the EPA’s authority to include any dry creek beds, prairie wetlands and other territory far beyond the “navigable waters” subject to oversight under federal law.
The Trump administration is calling the rule “one of the worst examples of federal regulations saying it burdened farmers, ranchers and home-builders by extending the EPA’s authority to "include any puddle." This latest executive order will also will ask a federal court in North Dakota to halt consideration of a lawsuit from dozens of states and an assortment of businesses and agricultural groups challenging the rule while the measure is being reviewed, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the document before its release.
It also helps deliver on President Trump’s campaign pledge to rescind the measure critics said unfairly expanded the EPA’s Clean Water Act jurisdiction to include dry creek beds, prairie wetlands and other territory far beyond the “navigable waters” subject to oversight under federal law.
The move is the first of several environmental directives expected from the Trump administration in coming days. Another document aims to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, former President Barack Obama’s signature plan for combating climate change by slashing greenhouse gas emissions tied to the generation of electricity. Newly installed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt also said he wants to go after a rule imposed last year that limits methane emissions from new and modified oil and gas wells.
Significant federal regulatory changes are about to occur under the new Trump Administration and farmer, ranchers, and others are going to be pleasantly surprised by the new tone and tenor of the government agencies.
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To learn more about EPA regulations and how it may affect you, read our blog: http://blog.goosmannlaw.com/risk-manager-on-your-side/epa-risk-management-plans