In a recent tweet, Republican Senator Joni Ernst accused President Biden of doubling down on his “overreaching and out-of-touch #WOTUS rule.” The WOTUS (Waters of the United States) rule was first introduced by the Obama administration in 2015 and aimed to clarify which bodies of water were protected under the Clean Water Act. However, it has been a source of controversy ever since.
Ernst claimed that the rule had been rejected by a bipartisan majority in the Senate, but this is not entirely accurate. In 2017, President Trump signed an executive order directing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to review and potentially rescind or revise the WOTUS rule. In September 2019, they repealed and replaced it with a narrower definition that excluded many wetlands and streams.
However, environmental groups challenged this decision in court, arguing that it violated both the Clean Water Act and administrative law. In August 2020, a federal judge blocked its implementation in several states. Then in January 2021, just before leaving office, President Trump’s EPA issued another revision to narrow its scope even further.
Now with President Biden’s new administration revisiting environmental policies from previous administrations like Obama’s one including climate change policy as well as WOTUS – there are concerns among some Republicans about restoring regulatory overreach through these rules.
Ernst stated she would be working to set a clear WOTUS definition and defend farmers who may face increased regulations under such policies; however her statement did not provide details on what exactly this would entail.
It remains to be seen how President Biden will approach this contentious issue or whether any new rules will ultimately be upheld by courts – something which could take years given ongoing legal fights over prior changes made during previous administrations.