ABC NEWS: EPA sends rollback of Obama water protection rule to White House
The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers have sent a proposal to revise an Obama administration rule intended to protect bodies of water to the White House for review, a move that could roll back what some industry groups have called burdensome federal overregulation.
The Clean Water Act regulates bodies of water in the United States, including permits for any entity that will release chemicals into bodies of water or are responsible for cleaning up pollution and oil spills. Part of that law includes a definition of which bodies of water are regulated by the federal government, which has led to legal disputes about how the government should define what qualifies as a “Water of the United States.”
In 2015, the Obama administration finalized a rule that would place smaller streams and other areas where water flows into rivers or lakes under federal jurisdiction, meaning the government would regulate runoff into that water. That rule was delayed by legal challenges and postponed by the Trump administration last year.
Photo Credit: Alex Brandon – AP
