Last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a schedule of meetings that will offer the public the chance to discuss the definition of “Waters of the United States (WOTUS).”

Following a proposal to rescind the Obama-era WOTUS rule in July, EPA and the Corps published a notice in the Federal Register on Aug. 28.

The first meeting of the series will be a teleconference focused on small entities on Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 1 to 3 p.m. EDT. The Corps and EPA will also conduct an in-person meeting for small entities at the EPA’s headquarters (1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20003) on Monday, Oct. 23, from 9 to 11 a.m. EDT.

Additionally, EPA and the Corps will be hosting several WOTUS webinars that focus on such sectors as agriculture, mining, construction and transportation, and conservation. The webinar for construction and transportation will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. EDT.  

Learn more about the schedule of public meetings here.

Since Oct. 9, 2015, the 2015 WOTUS final rule has been under a nationwide stay by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. ABC has been a vocal opponent of the WOTUS rule since it was first proposed in April 2014, and recently submitted comments to the EPA on this and other burdensome EPA regulations in May 2017, stating that this rule could “lead to a flood of unnecessary and excessive permitting requests that would create project delays and increase costs.” 

ABC will continue to provide updates on the WOTUS rule through Newsline.