In 2015, the Obama Administration finalized a WOTUS rule that dramatically expanded federal jurisdiction of waters of the U.S. that was challenged in federal court. The court first enjoined the rule from going into effect and later vitiated the rule entirely. The EPA under the Trump Administration underwent a two-phase process to first repeal the 2015 rule and then issue a new rule to take its place. The 2015 rule was officially repealed via regulation in September of 2019 and reinstated the pre-2015 rules. On January 23, 2020, the EPA announced the new “Navigable Water Protection Rule” that is set to go into effect in March of 2020. The final rule clarifies what constitutes a water body subject to federal jurisdiction and reinforces the relationship between the federal government and the states.
NCA supports federal policies that recognize the efforts of clubs that are working to improve the environment and the adoption of laws and regulations that are based on science and empirical data, clearly understandable and not overly burdensome to achieving the desired outcome. NCA also supports efforts at the federal level that create a collaborative approach to enforcement to ensure compliance.