The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is ramping up its efforts to overturn the Biden administration's new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The NAHB has been lobbying Congress, which has culminated in the House passing the Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval on March 9th. Alicia Huey, Chairman of the NAHB, commended the bipartisan House vote and stated, "It makes no sense for human-made ditches and isolated ponds on private property to be subject to federal jurisdiction, but that's exactly what the WOTUS rule does under its intrastate waters category. Adding uncertainty and delay to the federal permitting process needlessly raises housing costs and defers badly needed affordable housing projects."

The NAHB is urging the Senate to move forward and pass the resolution to put pressure on the administration to change the WOTUS rule. They are also focusing their efforts on the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on the legality of the significant nexus test, a critical part of the final rule. NAHB believes that a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Sacketts, who brought suit against the EPA over whether there are wetlands on their property that would force the couple to apply for a federal permit under the Clean Water Act, could force the administration to scrap the worst parts of its WOTUS rule and return to the drawing board.

 

The Irrigation Association (IA) released a report that outlined how numerous industry associations have been opposing the WOTUS rule. They connected statements from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, who call the new rule a "significant overreach," and the American Farm Bureau Federation suggests that it "threatens the progress made to responsibly manage natural resources."

Advocacy director for the Irrigation Association (IA), Nathan Bowman, suggests, "... it is imperative that those who work with water have a clear understanding of what constitutes federal jurisdiction and what does not, and that the scope of that jurisdiction protects our nations water resources while also being workable for irrigators."

Meanwhile, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), have been vocal advocates in favor of the new ruling as it includes several ASLA recommendations. The associations explains, "ASLA is pleased that this rule considered ASLA's recommendations and utilized "the best available science" to define WOTUS in a manner that will strengthen protections for varied waters across the nation."


https://www.nahb.org/blog/2023/03/nahb-continues-to-hammer-away-at-wotus-rule