Starting next week, the WPN Update will come to you on Tuesdays instead of Fridays! Keep an eye on your inboxes for Tuesday's updates on water policy and more for federal fiscal year 2019.
Environmental Review Oversight to Move to the EPA Office of Policy
The EPA has moved its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review function from the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to the Office of Policy. This move was formalized through a final rule, "Amendment of the NEPA Official Under Procedures for Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA]." Many are concerned that this move will inject politics into what should be a meaningful technical review process. This move is part of the EPA's efforts to implement former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's March directive, which also called for "policy-related changes needed to accelerate permitting-related decisions without sacrificing environmental results." WPN members, many other conservation organizations, and members of the public submitted comments opposing such rollbacks in August. The EPA also announced on September 26 that it will reorganize some of its other offices to form an Office of Mission Support.
Sea-Level Rise Could Cover Half of New York Area Tidal Wetlands by 2100
A report just released from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) forecasts that there is at least a fifty percent chance that almost half of the coastal wetlands in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will be submerged by 2100 because of sea level rise. While sea level rise would normally result in wetlands migrating inland, almost half of the pathways for wetland migration in the tri-state area are blocked by hard infrastructure, roads, and other development. In short, these wetlands "simply have nowhere to go." RPA makes several recommendations in the report to promote adaptation, restoration, and sustainable wetland migration to increase coastal resiliency.
The latest in the continuing attacks on the Clean Water Rule (Waters of the United States, or WOTUS Rule) is a motion by the American Farm Bureau Federation requesting that an injunction of WOTUS apply nationwide or to any states not yet included in any court's preliminary injunction against WOTUS. If the Farm Burea's request is granted, the 22 states states plus the Disctrict of Columbia where the WOTUS Rule still apply would suspend the implementation of the WOTUS Rule, which defines what waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. While the Farm Bureau seeks a nationwide injunction through the courts, the Trump administration's draft replacement rule is pending review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
