New Navigable Waters Rule Goes Into Effect Despite Suits

摘要

The Trump administration's new navigable waters rule, which significantly curtails the types of water bodies under federal jurisdiction, went into effect in all states except Colorado on June 22 after a judge in California rejected a request by 17 state attorneys general to temporarily block the rule. The regulation replaces the Obama-era Waters of the U.S. rule, contentious among contractors and construction groups because it could have led to the Army Corps of Engineers regulating some temporary streams, such as roadside ditches, created after rains or snow melt. Retired Col. John W. Eisenhauer, commander of the Corps' Portland District from 2011 to 2013 and now a senior adviser at water consultancy group Daw-son and Associates, told ENR he expects that stakeholders with permits under the previous regulation may seek a revised permit under the new regulations because "under the old rule they have a lot of onerous mitigation."