President Donald Trump is expected to order the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review and reconsider the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, reports the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA).
The WOTUS rule expanded EPA’s jurisdiction of lands deemed bodies of water under certain definitions and measurements.
According to NSSGA, the executive order would not require EPA to rescind WOTUS. It has been under a nationwide stay from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 2015, shortly after it was enacted.
NSSGA has been advocating against the rule, saying it poses threats to the aggregate industry, as well as taxpayers. This could cause increased delays and cost overruns for public works projects, NSSGA says.
“This is a positive step toward ending the threat of this gross overreach of an agency’s jurisdiction,” says Mike Johnson, NSSGA president and CEO.
NSSGA filed a lawsuit against EPA to combat the rule, a step that industry groups and more than half of the states took, NSSGA adds.
