NAHB Continues to Push for WOTUS and Wetland Permitting Process Improvements

NAHB members continued to broadcast the Federation’s message to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (collectively, the Agencies) on the need for regulatory reform regarding the federal definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). 

Following a similar session last week for industry and agricultural stakeholders, the Agencies held a listening session for public stakeholders to provide input on key topics related to the WOTUS definition. NAHB members and staff addressed the following topics related to WOTUS and the wetland permitting process:

• Hans Klinger, president of the Home Builders Association of Virginia, discussed “continuous surface connection”;
• Kent Pauley, member of the Home Builders Association of West Virginia and NAHB National Area Chairman, discussed “relatively permanent” flow;
• Merle Stutzman, president of the Ohio Home Builders Association, discussed the status of jurisdictional ditches; and
• Rick Wajda, chief executive officer of the Indiana Builders Association, discussed the need for an efficient rulemaking and exclusions.

NAHB will continue to engage the leadership of EPA and the Corps as the Agencies seek to improve the CWA 404 permitting process and develop a proposed WOTUS regulatory definition under the CWA that complies with the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision.

For more on WOTUS, visit nahb.org.