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EPA proposes end of WOTUS

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Missouri lawmakers are celebrating after an announcement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is withdrawing the Clean Water Rule, aka Waters of the United States.

The EPA announced yesterday its intention to propose a rule withdrawing the Obama-era order, which gave the federal government the authority to regulate streams and other small bodies of water across the country. Former Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster argued the rule would makes thousands of acres of privately owned land in Missouri subject to federal water regulation. Koster said the rules reclassified waters to include land that is dry most of the year.

"We are taking significant action to return power to the states and provide regulatory certainty to our nation's farmers and businesses," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a news release.

The proposed rule would recodify the original regulatory text in place before the 2015 Clean Water Rule. The original rule currently is in place because of a U.S. Court of Appeals stay on it.

The EPA’s action follows President Donald Trump’s executive order in February directing the EPA to review the rule and ensure all navigable waters are kept free from pollution, while promoting economic growth.

“Today’s action by the Trump administration is a huge win for Missouri farmers, ranchers and small-business owners,” Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said in a news release. “The WOTUS rule was an egregious Washington power grab that would have made it impossible for the men and women who drive our state’s economy, especially in the agriculture sector, to do their jobs.”

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