WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) applauded the announcement by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin that the EPA will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revise the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.
The announcement delivers on President Trump’s promise to review the definition of “waters of the United States” and again replace the overreaching Obama-era rule that gave the federal government unprecedented power over Idaho’s land and water.
"The Waters of the United States rule is a prime example of Democrats' attempts to usurp state authority in natural resource management for years. This egregious federal overreach forced Idaho’s farmers, ranchers, and landowners to treat ditches and puddles like they were lakes and rivers,” said Risch. “I applaud President Trump and his administration’s work to roll back this unreasonable regulation and deliver policies that work for Idahoans.”
“The Trump administration continues to deliver on its promise to reduce the size and scope of the federal government in places where it does not belong--like momentary puddles and groundwater ditches,” said Crapo. “I thank EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for his quick actions to revise WOTUS decisions within the law and under the Supreme Court’s clear ruling on navigable waters. It’s time to give water management policies back to state and local on-the-ground experts once and for all.”
Background:
The WOTUS rule finalized by the Obama administration’s WOTUS rule in 2015 defined all bodies of water—including temporary streams formed by rainfall—as subject to federal government regulation. This created significant confusion and burdensome red tape for Idaho’s agriculture industry.
Risch and Crapo have long fought against the Obama-era WOTUS rule and have advocated for greater recognition of state and local authority in natural resource management.
In 2020, the Trump administration replaced the 2015 rule with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), which provided much-needed predictability and certainty for farmers by establishing clear and reasonable definitions of what qualifies as a “water of the United States.”
The Biden administration repealed the NWPR in December 2022, issuing a new rule that changed the definition of WOTUS and grossly expanded federal regulatory authority.
