New Water Rule Supported By Morrisey, McCuskey

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new rule that defines what are considered “waters of the United States (WOTUS).” This new rule replaces a rule from the Biden administration. 

The revised rule was proposed in November. WOTUS falls under the Clean Water Act. The expanded Biden-era rule included smaller, seasonal streams and wetlands, often on private property. The rule was considered cumbersome by many landowners and farm owners because it meant the federal government dictated what they could do with their land. Environmental groups applauded the rule as a way to control farm runoff and other pollution. 

The governor and the state attorney general have both issued letters of support for the new water rule to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. General William H. “Butch” Graham, Jr. 

As West Virginia’s attorney general, Morrisey led a multistate coalition to oppose overly broad interpretations by the Biden EPA, which failed to align with the requirements from Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, 598 U.S. 651 (2023). 

In the letter, Morrisey said the Trump administration “seeks to fix those mistakes of the past administration” by strictly limiting the definition to traditional navigable waters, permanent tributaries that connect to these traditional navigable waters, and wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to those navigable waters or permanent tributaries.

In a separate letter, as part of a 20-state coalition, Attorney General JB McCuskey said “states should control their own waters, like rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands. Historically, states always regulated waters within their borders.”

The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office, under Morrisey, secured a preliminary injunction against the Biden-era WOTUS rule. 

In the letter, Attorney General JB McCuskey points out that states should control their own waters.

“The Clean Water Act was supposed to respect this; however, federal agencies have overreached in past administrations by expanding the definition of WOTUS and therefore expanding federal control of waters,” the letter reads. 

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia joined the West Virginia-led letter.

Public comment for the new rule, proposed in November, ended Jan. 5. The implementation date has not been set.