President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday effectively walking back the “Waters of the United States” rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Obama administration.
“EPA’s so-called waters of the United States rule is one of the worst examples of federal regulation, and it’s truly run amok,” Trump said during the signing ceremony in the Oval Office.
Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural businesses opposed the rule, as it allowed the EPA to regulate any water on a farmer’s land.
Trump called it “a disaster” during remarks, reminding the public that the EPA threatened a Wyoming rancher with fines of $37,000 a day after he dug a stock pond on his land.
“It’s a horrible, horrible rule,” Trump said. “It was a nice name, but everything else is bad.”
Trump’s executive order directs the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw and reconsider the rule back to the government agencies on the basis that it overreaches their authority.
Several U.S. senators, including Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Sen Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND.), attended the signing. Some members of the House of Representatives and several county commissioners also attended.
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