Waters of the US Goes into Effect; Infrastructure Package Introduced

Originally published in June 2020 by Shawn Moura, Ph.D., Director of Research, NAIOP

Last week, the Trump administration’s Waters of the U.S. – or “WOTUS” – rule went into effect. The new regulation, which defines the scope of federal jurisdiction over streams, rivers and other bodies of water, largely replaces the broader Obama-era rule. NAIOP weighed in on a draft proposal more than a year ago, and in January complimented the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers on developing a final rule that appropriately balances conservation and economic development.  

In an effort to block the rule’s implementation, opponents of the legislation have been busy filing lawsuits in many of the nearly 100 federal district courts nationwide. And while a California judge threw out a request to block the rule nationwide, a Colorado court issued a preliminary injunction, putting the rule on hold in the state. A number of lawsuits, filed by environmental groups, states, tribal governments and other entities remain pending. 

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