Regan Defends Timing Of New WOTUS Rule

EPA Administrator Michael Regan (left) sits next to Nick and Katherine Guetterman of Guetterman Brothers Farm, as a roundtable discussion on climate-smart agriculture began Feb. 9th, 2023, at the Guetterman’s farm in Bucyrus, Kansas. (Photo by Kyle Hill, Alpha Ag Network)

EPA Administrator Michael Regan defended the timing of his agency’s newest version of the Waters of the U.S. rule, ahead of a Supreme Court decision that could impact its enforceability. Speaking after Thursday’s roundtable at an eastern Kansas farm, Regan said the new rule released in late December was the culmination of lessons learned from the past decade of attempting to define what bodies of water are regulated under the federal Clean Water Act.

Central MO Info · 23 0213 EPA Administrator Michael Regan on New WOTUS Rule cut 1

Regan says the EPA put its rule in place ahead of the Supreme Court’s imminent decision in an Idaho couple’s lawsuit against the agency, with the hopes of informing justices of the rule’s intended goals.

Central MO Info · 23 0213 EPA Administrator Michael Regan on New WOTUS Rule cut 2

EPA’s new Waters of the U.S. rule is scheduled to take effect in late March. Administrator Michael Regan’s comments followed Congressional testimony delivered earlier in the week by Missouri Farm Bureau president Garrett Hawkins critical of the new rule.