The controversial Waters of the United States rule (WOTUS) won’t be implemented until 2020 under a decisionfinalizedJan. 31 by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. By that time, the federal government hopes to have in place a less-expansive replacement to the regulation issued in 2015 under President Obama.

EPA管理员Scott Pruitt在一份声明中说：“如今，EPA正在采取行动减少混乱，并为美国的农民和牧场主提供确定性。”“奥巴马政府制定的2015年WOTU统治将在未来两年内不适用于我们在所有50个州提供有关哪些水受到联邦法规的长期监管确定性的过程。”

Pruitt has said a rule to replace WOTUS will be finished by the end of this year. WOTUS was a joint regulation issued by the EPA and the Corps that sought to clarify which wetlands and streams are subject to federal regulatory jurisdiction. That definition has been unclear following past Supreme Court rulings.

该法规的反对者，包括建筑利益和农民，认为这是联邦过度划分的一个例子。但是该规则的支持者，包括环保团体，它为生态有价值的水域提供了必要的保护。

The Jan. 31 action eliminates the immediate possibility that the regulation could be implemented in some states but not others following a Jan. 22 U.S. Supreme Court决定这将有效地取消全国范围内的实施。

“We are committed to transparency as we execute the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulatory program,” said Ryan Fisher, acting assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, said in a statement. “The Army and EPA proposed this rule to provide the regulated public clarity and predictability during the rulemaking process.”

自然资源国防委员会表示，将挑战延迟法庭上Wotus实施的决定。NRDC高级律师乔恩·迪瓦恩（Jon Devine）在一份声明中说：“这是严重的不负责任，而非法的乔恩·迪瓦恩（Jon Devine）在一份声明中说。