INSIDE EPA: Industry Warns Against Adopting Narrow View of Court Rulings in WOTUS
A broad industry coalition is urging the Biden administration against adopting “unduly narrow interpretations” of various Supreme Court rulings in its upcoming regulation amending the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), warning that doing so will lead to continuing legal uncertainty.
The Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC), an alliance whose members include mining, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, construction and other groups, sent a July 24 letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Michael Connor, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, calling for the agencies to avoid adopting “unruly narrow interpretations” of the Supreme Court’s rulings in Sackett v. EPA and Rapanos v. United States in order to “ensure that the definition of WOTUS is durable and defensible.”
“The need for a clear and easily implementable definition of WOTUS is beyond debate. Sackett emphasizes the important due process considerations in play, and it is incumbent on the Agencies to refrain from adopting another ‘hopelessly indeterminate’ interpretation of the phrase WOTUS,” the letter said.