THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: EPA Chief Calls for Narrowing Scope of Clean-Water Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal Tuesday that reduces the number of federally protected bodies of water compared with an Obama-era rule it seeks to replace.
EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the rule will give states needed flexibility in managing their streams and wetlands and provides greater certainty to Americans about when permits are needed, while reining in what he described as the overreach of the Obama administration.
Mr. Wheeler said former President Obama’s rule wrongly included many bodies of water that don’t regularly flow into larger waterways. The new proposed rule “puts an end to the previous administration’s power grab,” he said.
“Property owners should be able to stand on their property and be able to tell whether or not they have water that is a federal water without having to hire outside professionals,” Mr. Wheeler said.
The proposal requires a 60-day public comment period before the EPA begins drafting a final version, which the agency said it expects to publish by June.
