Biden admin quietly reinstates 'overreaching' EPA rule potentially regulating 'puddles and ditches'

Fox Business ^ | January 2, 2023 4:44pm EST | Greg Wehner

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The Biden Administration signed off on Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, regulations to protect small streams, wetlands and waterways as part of the Clean Water Act, just before the end of 2022.

President Biden’s signing of the regulations ultimately repealed Trump-era regulations that made many waterways susceptible to pollution and were thrown out by federal courts.

The EPA signed off on the revised definition of "Waters of the United States," on Dec. 29, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed off on the revised definitions on Dec. 28.

The revised rules define what types of water bodies are protected under the Clean Water Act and were based on definitions that were put in place before 2015 during the Obama administration.

The Trump administration reversed course from the Obama administration, which looked for ways to expand federal protections of waterways.

The Trump administration’s rule benefited property owners including farmers, builders, and oil producers concerned about feds regulating ravines and creeks on private property, like farms.

Without regulations on those waterways, environmental groups stressed, the rule allowed wetlands to be filled in by property owners, damaging habitats. It also allowed for property owners to dump harmful pollutants into the unprotected waterways, which could potentially flow downstream and threaten wildlife or water supply sources.

The Trump-era rule was thrown out by U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Marquez, who said the regulations ignored that smaller waterways could affect the health of waterways they flow into, the Associated Press reported.

[Mlheureux]

I lived in WA state and indeed a puddle during the winter actually stopped construction. The EPA is STASI by another name.

[Erik Latranyi]

Only to be enforced against those who do not support the communist party.

[moovova]

Yo EPA...here's a puddle for ya...

[taxcontrol]

Congress’s authority extends only to “navigable” waterways per the Constitution.

No definition is provided.

[PerConPat]

Joe's handlers know this will play very nicely in most large urban areas where the nearest waterway or wetland is usually a storm gutter or a soaked ball field that's dry in a short while. The same crowd that thinks prairie rats (they're not dogs) are cute...

[Secret Agent Man]

Basically so you can’t even wash your car at home.

[catnipman]

irrigated furrows in corn fields will now be considered waterways of the U.S. ... i think the test for waterway will be whether you can float a rubber duckie in it ...

[bigbob]

Undoing Trump

[linMcHlp]

bttt

[Sequoyah101]

This is devastating.

[Sequoyah101]

People need to disappear.

[lepton]

“Concerned”?

The Army Corps of Engineers was actually doing it.

Didn’t this go to the Supreme Court?

[Svartalfiar]

The county agent sat me down and told me the following...

"It's easier and more efficient for us to declare everything wetlands, and then work backwards to lift the parcels out of that status in the future one at a time based on intended use"

"We receive federal funding at the county level for management of wetlands and protection of wetlands"

Yea, sure, easier for them, but now all of you have to waste time and probably money in order to fix your land. And I bet if you don't argue it pretty quite, the 'wetlands' designation will get grandfathered in on you.

And, of course it's also about the money. Money and power is what they want.