Vinson & Elkins LLP
Andrew R. Stewart and Taylor Holcomb

July 31, 2017

On July 27, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers jointly proposed to rescind the “waters of the United States” definition in the Code of Federal Regulations and to apply the definition in place both before to the 2015 rulemaking adding the definition and after the Sixth Circuit’s late 2015 stay of the rule. This rulemaking is drawing substantial interest because the definition outlines much of these agencies’ jurisdiction. Public comments are due on August 28, 2017.

The agencies also announced their intent to pursue a future rulemaking “in which the agencies will conduct a substantive reevaluation of the definition of waters of the United States.”

The Federal Register notice is available here.

This article is being provided for informational purposes only and not for the purposes of providing legal advice or creating an attorney-client relationship. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem you may have. In addition, the opinions expressed herein are the opinions of Mr. Stewart and Mr. Holcomb and may not reflect the opinions of Synergy Environmental, Inc., Vinson & Elkins LLP or either of those firms’ clients.