Zeldin overhauls Biden-era water rule to end ‘weaponization’ that led ‘puddles’ to trigger pricy permits
FIRST ON FOX: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will announce Monday a revamp of the widely criticized Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule – a regulation that, in one case,...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX : EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will announce Monday a revamp of the widely criticized Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule – a regulation that, in one case, left an Idaho couple facing potential fines of $33,000 per day for building a home on "soggy" ground. WOTUS was drafted during the Nixon administration under the Clean Water Act to regulate and protect wetlands, more broadly define "navigable waters" and protect public health, before the Obama and Biden administrations extended its reach to where landowners feared the EPA could swoop in at any moment and usurp control of their lands. "When it comes to the definition of ‘waters of the United States,’ EPA has an important responsibility to protect water resources while setting clear and practical rules of the road that accelerate economic growth and opportunity," Zeldin said in a statement. EPA CHIEF WRAPS NATIONAL TOUR AS CRITICS SLAM DEREGULATION AGENDA The Obama administration greatly broadened WOTUS’ definitions, before the Trump administration relented some of those new regulations – to which the Biden administration again greatly expanded federal jurisdiction over areas of land that could include ephemeral streams, and low-lying spots prone to naturally-collecting water that could be found to have a "significant nexus" to navigable water. The EPA said Monday that the new rule, drawing on a court decision in favor of exasperated landowners, is delivering on another Trump administration promise to provide regulatory clarity while also protecting America’s waterways. The rule, crafted in concert with Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle, will provide long-term economic relief for farmers and ranchers who spent years wondering whether a simple "puddle [could] trigger federal permits" and energy producers fearing " regulatory quicksand ." EPA URGED TO AXE FUNDS FOR ‘RADICAL’ CLIMATE PROJECT ACCUSED OF TRAINING JUDGES, STATE AGS RALLY The EPA said Americans joined nine "list…