EPA Extends WOTUS Repeal Comment Deadline
The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is extending the deadline to submit comments on its proposal to repeal the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule until September 27, 2107. The WOTUS Rule revised the regulatory definition of what kinds of areas would be protected under the Clean Water Act as wetlands. The EPA stated that it and the Army Corps of Engineers will accept comments on the WOTUS definition repeal proposal through September 27th. EPA formally proposed the repeal of the WOTUS definition in late June with a deadline for the comment period set for August 28th, 2017. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt filed the proposal following the President Trump’s February executive order directing the EPA Administrator to consider the repeal of the WOTUS rule. The Trump administration plans to write a new definition for the term “Waters of the United States” in a separate process from the repeal effort. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203, at http://www.regulations.gov . To date, almost 28,000 comments have been submitted.