Like everything else today, the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) ebbs and flows depending on which political party holds office. However, while the Biden Administration gets its ducks in a row to propose a new WOTUS rulemaking, in lawsuits challenging the Trump Era Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), federal courts are being asked by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to remand the NWPR without vacating it to allow time to revoke it themselves and issue a new rule after public comment. As has happened previously in WOTUS rulemaking challenges, the courts in different parts of the country are dealing with the same issues but coming out with different rulings, some remanding without vacating the NWPR, some remanding and vacating it, and some still in limbo. Meanwhile, on September 3, 2021, Biden’s EPA and the Corps have ended the period for stakeholders to comment on a new WOTUS rulemaking and ended public informational sessions. What does this mean to those in the process of seeking a jurisdictional determination? More uncertainty is guaranteed.
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