NAHB: What's next for waters of the United States?

Now that President Trump has ordered an extensive review of the “waters of the United States (WOTUS)” definitions in the Clean Water Act, many NAHB members have questions about how this executive order changes the stormwater and wetlands permitting processes they have been following all along – and what the next steps are.

 

Let’s go to our resident WOTUS specialist: NAHB Environmental Policy Program Manager Owen McDonough, PhD.

 

Owen, what are the rules now – what has changed? For builders, not much. First, the new WOTUS rule never really had an opportunity to actually take hold. It was suspended by a federal court ruling just weeks after being finalized in 2015. What this new executive order means is that EPA and the Corps must take a giant step back and thoroughly review the flawed rule.

 

The current rule is not very clear, doesn’t take into account the need for economic growth and oversteps the rights of states to make decisions within their own borders. It fundamentally attempts to expand Clean Water Act requirements beyond what Congress originally intended while at the same time ignoring Supreme Court decisions.

 

Is WOTUS going away? No, the President does not have that authority to erase the WOTUS rule. He’s telling the agencies he wants a comprehensive review and a revised rule that makes sense for everyone. And he wants it quickly. He doesn’t want to leave the regulated community – especially home builders – in limbo. Our industry is arguably the most heavily regulated under the Clean Water Act, and we ... read the article at the NAHB website