Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has signed an order blocking implementation of the Obama-era Waters of the U.S. Rule for two years. The move was made as the agency withdraws and rewrites the regulation. National Pork Producers Council Assistant Vice President of Domestic Affairs and Counsel Michael Formica says the administrator’s move is good news for agriculture and was required with several litigation proceedings.
He says a court decision that lifted a stay on the 2015 WOTUS rule made it necessary for Administrator Pruitt to take this action.
Formica says with the two-year delay, he’s not concerned about the Obama WOTUS regulation being implemented.
The jurisdiction over the Waters of the U.S. rule now lies in Federal District Courts, rather than in Appeals Courts, due to the recent Supreme Court Ruling.
