EPA To Revise Or Replace Trump-Era Clean Water Act Rules, But Will Leave Existing Rules In Place For Now

• Published date: 10 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, Environmental Law, Water
• Law Firm: Jenner & Block
• Author: Ms Allison A. Torrence

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), under Administrator Michael Regan, has begun the process of reviewing and revising two key Clean Water Act ("CWA") rules: The Navigable Waters Protection Rule and the CWA Section 401 Certification Rule. In recent court filings in cases where litigants have challenged both of these Trump-era rules, EPA has requested those cases be remanded because EPA has commenced new rulemaking processes that will revise or replace the challenged rules. However, if the courts grant EPA's requests, EPA has requested that the existing rules remain in effect until EPA finalizes replacement rules through the formal notice and comment rulemaking process.

The first of the two key CWA rules at issue is the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which defines "Waters of the United States". This is a significant rule and definition because the jurisdiction of the CWA is limited to Waters of the United States. Thus, by setting the definition of Waters of the United States, EPA establishes the reach of the CWA. Due to the significance of this definition, it has been widely contested throughout the years and every attempt by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promulgate a definition has faced legal challenges.

In 2019, the Trump Administration rescinded the Obama-era Waters of the United States rule and in 2020, issued the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, narrowing the definition of Waters of the United States. The most significant change in the Trump rule is that the new definition excludes ephemeral waters (those flowing only in direct response to precipitation) and many wetlands that are near other jurisdictional waters but lack a physical or surface connection to them.

In several court filings in June, EPA has stated its plans "to commence a new rulemaking to revise or replace the [Navigable Waters Protection] rule." Notably, EPA is not requesting vacatur of the existing rule during the rulemaking...