Wotus

Court upholds Trump’s WOTUS rule against Colorado challenge

At issue is nearly five-decade-old confusion over what constitutes “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA).

By

Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.

|2021-03-05T22:36:50-05:00March 9th, 2021|Comments Off

EPA Admin. Wheeler: Environmental Reporters Aren’t Practicing Journalistic Standards

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler joins District of Conservation podcast host Gabriella Hoffman on the show today for a wide-ranging interview. Listen here.

By

Gabriella Hoffman

|2020-12-14T14:24:29-05:00December 14th, 2020|Comments Off

EP 114: Congressman Roger Marshall, Avid Hunter and U.S. Senate Candidate (Kansas)

In this week's District of Conservation episode, Gabriella spoke with Dr. Roger Marshall—avid hunter and GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Kansas.

By

Gabriella Hoffman

|2020-10-26T12:12:42-04:00October 25th, 2020|Comments Off

Two big wins for freedom!

Every puddle and muddy ditch no longer the feds to control. Courts can't overrule Congress because the Left hides behind kids. Celebrate!

By

CFACT Ed, Craig Rucker

|2020-01-25T09:29:14-05:00January 25th, 2020|Comments Off

The puddles in your yard are yours again

Puddles and ditches were never meant to be navigable "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS).

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CFACT Ed, Dr. Jay Lehr

|2020-01-10T21:16:29-05:00January 11th, 2020|Comments Off

Trump water reforms a relief for rural communities

Had the Obama "WOTUS" rule not been repealed, landowners would have had to get permits from federal bureaucrats before making any significant modifications to their property.

By

CFACT Ed, Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.

|2019-09-15T17:44:00-04:00September 18th, 2019|Comments Off

EPA “finally” finalizes WOTUS repeal

The Obama administration’s WOTUS rule was that it broadened the scope of federal control so much that even ditches that happened to fill with water could fall under the government’s “navigable waters” scope of authority.

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CFACT Ed, Adam Houser

|2019-09-16T15:12:18-04:00September 16th, 2019|Comments Off

EPA still abusing wetlands regulation

Bad habits are hard to shed. And if you are a bureaucrat at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who has become accustomed to throwing the agency’s considerable weight around, why turn over a new leaf?

By

CFACT Ed, Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.

|2019-09-09T10:56:04-04:00September 10th, 2019|Comments Off

EPA reins in murky “WOTUS” rule

Gabriella Hoffman: President Obama’s EPA deemed all bodies of water—including puddles and ditches— as “navigable waters” subject to regulation under the WOTUS rule.

By

CFACT Ed

|2018-12-21T16:58:04-05:00December 19th, 2018|Comments Off

Trump Administration scuttles Obama-era WOTUS “Waters of the United States” rule

By rolling back Obama’s 2015 “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, the administration has put an end to the biggest power grab in the 48-year history of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

By

Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.

|2018-12-18T03:11:19-05:00December 18th, 2018|Comments Off

Congress, courts must help Trump drain EPA swamp

The Trump Administration has an opportunity to reverse overreach by the EPA and other federal agencies -- but Congress and even the Courts have a role to play, according to CFACT policy advisor Larry Bell. Indeed. even the simplest actions by the Pruitt-led EPA or the Trump Administation in general will likely be challenged in federal courts by those with vested interests in the status quo.

By

Larry Bell

|2017-04-10T14:36:56-04:00April 10th, 2017|Comments Off

Trump orders roll back of EPA’s WOTUS rule

President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting a major Obama-era policy expanding federal authority over bodies of water. “Let’s start hiring those people, fellas,” Trump said before signing the order while surrounded by federal lawmakers and county officials. Trump ordered federal agencies to make sure “waters are kept free from pollution, while at the same time promoting economic growth, minimizing regulatory uncertainty” and respecting the role of states and Congress. Trump also ordered agencies to define “navigable waters” in a “manner consistent with the opinion of Justice Antonin Scalia in Rapanos v. United States” — a more narrow interpretation of [...]

By

CFACT Ed

|2017-03-01T09:04:47-05:00March 1st, 2017|8 Comments

Trump will issue executive orders to dismantle Obama’s ‘Climate Action Plan’

President Donald Trump will order EPA to begin dismantling a regulation central to former President Barack Obama’s plan to fight global warming. Trump will issue a second order instructing the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rewrite the “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule.

By

CFACT Ed

|2017-02-23T08:13:10-05:00February 22nd, 2017|2 Comments

Scott Pruitt EPA swamp-draining fear brings crocodile tears

Last Friday’s 56-42 Senate vote confirmation of Scott Pruitt as top EPA administrator brings a very unwelcome political climate change for many of the agency’s 15,000 federal career employees and their executive branch-appointed bosses who fought his approval tooth and claw. Referring to their aggressive and defiant letter-writing and telephone campaign protesting Pruitt’s appointment, Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University Director James Thurber told the New York Times, “It is rare…I can’t think of any other time when people in the bureaucracy have done this.” The vast majority of those protesters are Civil Service employees who can’t be [...]

By

Larry Bell

|2017-02-21T14:28:34-05:00February 21st, 2017|14 Comments

Courts tackling Clean Water Act abuses

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the North Dakota-based Hawkes Co., which had planned to mine peat from property in Minnesota, could challenge in court a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) ruling declaring the property counted as “regulated wetlands” without first having to go through the costly process necessary to obtain a permit to disturb wetlands.

By

H. Sterling Burnett

|2016-07-22T08:33:09-04:00July 19th, 2016|Comments Off