Business Law
Repeal of 2015 Waters of the U.S. Rule Sent to OMB for Final Review
On July 12, 2019 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) sent its rule to repeal the 2015 Waters of the U.S. (“WOTUS”) Rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for interagency review. OMB reviews are limited to 90 days with no minimum period for review. The final rule is the first step in the two-step repeal-and-replace process undertaken by the Trump administration. Once the White House interagency review is complete, EPA can formally repeal the 2015 WOTUS Rule and move forward with finalizing its replacement rule.
Legal battles are waging in courts across the country over the validity of the 2015 WOTUS Rule. Various court rulings have put the 2015 WOTUS rule on hold for 28 states, but it is still in effect in 22 states.
For more information on the OMB review, please click here.
This article was originally prepared by Kari Fisher(kfisher@cfbf.com) of California Farm Bureau Federation, in Sacramento, CA, and is republished with permission.