EPA to Seek New WOTUS Rule with Streamlined Permitting
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that EPA will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to solicit public input and craft a new regulation for the waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule that reduces red tape, cuts overall permitting costs and lowers the cost of business in communities across the country while protecting the nation’s navigable waters from pollution. This was a move strongly supported by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
“NAHB commends the EPA for moving to make changes to the WOTUS rule that will protect our nation’s waterways and provide builders and developers the clarity and certainty they need in the federal wetlands permitting process to help house America’s citizens,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes. “Today’s action by the EPA will help alleviate federal permitting roadblocks that are exacerbating the nation’s housing affordability crisis.”
According to NAHB, EPA will also undertake a rulemaking process to revise the 2023 definition of WOTUS with a focus on clarity, simplicity and improvements that will stand the test of time. While this rulemaking process proceeds, the agency will provide guidance to those states implementing the pre-2015 definition of WOTUS to ensure consistency with the law of the land.
