The Environmental Protection Agency released new guidance on the “continuous surface connection” definition under the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, and cattlemen hailed the announcement.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart issued a positive statement in response to the guidance. “For years, NCBA has worked across the federal government – educating members of Congress, participating in agency rulemaking, and fighting for cattle producers in federal court to secure a WOTUS definition that protects both our nation’s natural resources and American property rights,” Hart said. “We are grateful for the administration’s efforts to further conform the WOTUS definition to the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett vs. EPA.”
She also said they thank EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for his work to finally close a decades-long chapter of regulatory whiplash. Federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act is limited to the “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS rule for short.
