Advocacy
Congress has passed H.R. 3684, which was signed into law by President Biden on November 15, 2021. SESWA had adopted a White Paper on Stormwater Infrastructure Funding supporting increased federal funding and greater flexibility in stormwater and related programs. H.R. 3684 contains numerous provisions on stormwater, resiliency and water quality, See SESWA's summary here.
Waters of the United States (WOTUS) - See Short Summary of Impacts
WOTUS-related events are listed below in chronological order. "2017 Revisions" refers to articles concerning the repeal or replacement of the WOTUS rules that were initiated by the Trump Administration in 2017. "2015 Litigation" refers to articles concerning the challenges by SESWA and others to the rules adopted by the Obama Administration in 2015.
New WOTUS Rules Proposed Waterbodies that are subject to federal jurisdiction are termed Waters of the US or “WOTUS.” Such waters are subject to the provisions of the Clean Water Act and NPDES permitting programs, dredge and fill regulations, endangered species policies, etc. WOTUS policy has been subject to wide fluctuations over the past 20+ years, due in part to highly variable court decisions and also policy changes from one administration to another. Recent attempts to clarify WOTUS policy was initiated with the adoption of new regulations in 2015. Litigation throughout the country on those regulations was still underway when a new (and very different) set of regulations were adopted in 2020. Litigation over those regulations is still underway.
On December 7, 2021 EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a new rule to again revise the scope of Waters of the US. The Agencies have stated that the newly proposed regulations reflect a policy that is somewhere in between the expansive set of definitions adopted in 2015 and the greatly narrowed definitions that were adopted in 2020. More information may be found at EPA's WOTUS webpage. Comments were accepted by February 2, 2022 and can be found on the federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. See SESWA’s comments here.
Meanwhile, in January 2022 the US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal seeking to clarify its 2006 ruling in Rapanos. Sackett v. EPA asks SCOTUS when the CWA applies or does not apply to wetlands. Oral arguments are set for late October 2022, so a decisions should be issued by the Court in early 2023.
See WOTUS Archive for more information.
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