EPA, Army Engineers to Hold WOTUS "Outreach Meetings"

Early last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers announced a series of "outreach meetings" to hear from stakeholders about their recommendations for amending the controversial Waters of the U.S. rule, or WOTUS for short. Specifically, the WOTUS rule aims to determine what can be considered a "water of the U.S." under the Clean Water Act and thus under the jurisdiction of the federal government; potentially a very large jurisdictional expansion. The WOTUS rule has been stayed nationwide by federal courts since November while multiple legal challenges to the rule work their way through the court system.

The outreach meetings, which NRMCA will be a part of, will consist of two in-person meetings for small business interests and nine conference call/Webinar type sessions for different industry sectors.