BY BRAD BECKETT ON JUNE 12, 2019
Late last month, a federal court in Texas issued a strongly worded ruling stating that the Environmental Protection Agency broke the law in issuing the landmark regulation governing waterways promulgated by the Obama Administration. According to the Washington Examiner, the court said that the EPA did not allow for appropriate notice for public comment on changes it made to the final regulations and ordered the EPA to open a new public comment period on reports and analyses used in developing the final 2015 regulation. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has been attempting to repeal them.
“The Waters of the U.S. rule, sometimes referred to by critics as the “puddle rule,” extended EPA’s Clean Water Act authority to include drainage ditches and watering holes by broadening the definition of a “waterway.” States, ranchers, farmers, and other interests have opposed the rule in courts for nearly four years. They argue the EPA overreached in its federal authority to enforce the Clean Water Act.”
Click here to read the full article at the Washington Examiner.