Dive Brief:

• The National Association of Home Builders has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its final “Waters of the United States” regulations, calling their wording “arbitrary” and their premise “legally indefensible.”

• The call came after it was disclosed that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accused the agency of using a flawed analysis in crafting the rules. NAHB Chairman Tom Woods called the EPA’s disregard for the Corps’ objections “absolutely scandalous.”

• The rules, set to take effect on Aug. 28, redefine which bodies of water are subject to the Clean Water Act. NAHB and several other construction, agriculture, ranching and mining organizations have sued the EPA to stop the rules, which they have said could include ditches and ponds that do not flow into larger bodies and water, and therefore should not be subject to federal oversight.

Dive Insight:

Woods reiterated the concern of industries and 27 state attorneys general — who filed their own lawsuit — that the definition is vague and will create regulatory uncertainty.

The organizations involved in the lawsuits have said the definition of which waters would be subject to federal permitting are so vague that even puddles created by heavy rainfall might qualify.

Woods said earlier that the rule attempts “to exert jurisdiction over virtually every water feature imaginable.”

In a statement late last week, Woods reiterated that the change would cause an undue burden on homebuilders and would “impede the housing recovery and economic growth by vastly extending the areas in which home builders and other landowners are required to obtain wetlands permits.”