ABC praised President Trump for issuing an executive order requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review the controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule on Feb. 28 and accordingly revise or rescind it through public comment. The rule had been previously been blocked under a nationwide stay issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

“Associated Builders and Contractors applauds President Trump for taking action to clarify the limits of federal jurisdiction over waterways and take steps to alleviate the current environment of regulatory uncertainty plaguing contractors,” said ABC Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Kristen Swearingen. “The overreaching rule crafted by the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency would have stymied growth in the construction industry and needlessly delayed projects via a lengthy permitting process.”

ABC has been a vocal opponent of WOTUS since the rule was proposed in April 2014 and has:

• Filed comments along with more than 50 ABC chapters to voice deep concern over the rule
• Filed comments with a group of 375 trade associations to oppose the rule
• Filed comments as a member of the Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC) to oppose the rule

To read ABC’s comments click here, to read the group of associations comments click here, to read the WAC comments click here.