The EPA’s proposed wetlands rule intended to erase a Trump-era regulation is so legally and scientifically robust that—if finalized—it could be the last word from the Biden administration defining which wetlands are eligible for federal protection, water lawyers say.
The stakes are high: Which waters and wetlands are federally protected can slow or curtail commercial and energy development nationwidewhile helping to improve water quality and aquatic habitat. Each administration since President George W. Bush has expanded or contracted the definition of waters of the United States, or WOTUS,, and the Biden administration is expected to expand it.
“It would not ...