EPA To Revise Water Definitions- AGAIN!

The Biden administration announced, back on June 9th, that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to revise the definition of “waters of the United States”

They had written a new definition under the Obama administration that was changed under President Trump.

“Here we go again,” said U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY).

“The Biden administration continues its crusade to replace sound regulatory policy reforms with misguided federal mandates and job-killing uncertainty.” (WOTUS). 

The constitution says that the Federal Government will be in charge of Navigable Waters. The EPA had changed that to mean any water that fed into navigable water as well.

Protection Rule (NWPR), as directed by President Biden, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will determine the new rule.

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The rule under the Obama administration caused problems for many farmers and ranchers in states like Wyoming. The EPA went after them for such things as stock ponds, as was the famous case with Andy Johnson, of Wyoming. Mr. Johnson eventually won that case against the EPA.

“Farmers, ranchers and big industrial companies supported the Trump rollbacks, saying previous definitions of which waterways should be protected were overly broad, in some cases, covering streams that were completely dry.” (Reuters).

The announcement of changes to water protection rules comes at a troubling time for those in the West facing another year of drought. Repealing the Trump-era WOTUS rule brings the agency back to water rules instated by the Obama administration.

Senator Barrasso: “The Waters of the U.S. Rule was a terrible idea during the Obama administration and it hasn’t improved with age. This outrageous rule isn’t about protecting America’s waterways, it’s about giving Washington, D.C. control over everything from backyard ponds to puddles and farm fields. I’ll continue to stand with America’s farmers, ranchers and responsible landowners to oppose this misguided rule every step of the way.”

Special thanks to Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Click here for an in-depth look into this story from them.