By Mike Keegan After withstanding numerous preemptive judicial challenges, the Trump administration’s version of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) went into effect on June 22. The Trump rule circumscribed the federal regulatory power over U.S. waters compared to the 2015 Obama administration’s rule which circumscribed the previous ruleRead More

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James last week announced a new, clear definition for “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule.  According to EPA and the Department of the Army, the new definitionRead More

By Stanley A. Millan & Elise M. Henry The battle over how to define federal waters began in the early 1970s and continues today. As a result of changing policy and legal uncertainly, it is a challenge for anyone to determine what qualifies as a “water of the United States”Read More

At an event last month in Albany, N.Y., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Pete Lopez, joined by representatives from the New York Farm Bureau and the Business Council of New York State, announced that EPA and the Department of the Army are repealing a 2015 rule that impermissiblyRead More

By Mike Keegan On July 5, President Donald Trump tweeted that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt had resigned from his position as the head of the agency. The acting administrator is now Andrew Wheeler, who previously served as deputy administrator. Wheeler has pledged to implement Pruitt’s agendaRead More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of the Army (Army) have finalized a rule adding an applicability date to the 2015 Clean Water Rule (the 2015 Rule). This rule provides clarity and certainty about which definition of “waters of the United States” is applicable nationwide in responseRead More

According to Fitch Ratings, the potential repeal of, or change to, the Waters of the United States rule (WOTUS) would be largely neutral for Fitch-rated public utilities in the near- to mid-term as they are already subject to water regulations outlined by the Clean Water Act (CWA) and their capitalRead More