Nice work
The Clean water Rule actually brought more clarity and consistency into the WOTUS framework .
Righty only oppose it because some wingnut blog told them to, and because Obama
As always Crypiss is just a bullshit merchant on steroids. Here is a report from somebody that used to work at the EPA and actually knows what he's talking about.
What Went Wrong With WOTUS: Reflections on Economic Valuation and Environmental Regulation
In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a regulation addressing the definition of the “waters of the United States,” also known as WOTUS. The controversial rule would have expanded federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, potentially extending it to cover isolated wetlands, small streams, and other such waters.
In this PERC Policy Series, former EPA economist and PERC Lone Mountain Fellow R. David Simpson recounts his experience leading a group of EPA economists who reviewed the economic analysis that supported the 2015 rule.
With the benefit of hindsight, Simpson reflects on the episode and explains that the analysis of the Clean Water Rule left much to be desired. Rather than using the agency’s own original research to estimate the potential effects of the proposed WOTUS rule, the EPA’s analysis relied on dated estimates that employed questionable economic valuation methods.
As Simpson explains, the controversy over the WOTUS rule exemplifies a growing distrust of experts in Washington, D.C., who put forth far-reaching regulatory proposals that have widely dispersed benefits but whose costs are concentrated and borne by identifiable people.
Simpson concludes by offering suggestions for improving the process of valuing environmental benefits from proposed regulations. Economic analysis will be most useful, Simpson explains, if it helps us prioritize our challenges, rather than being used as a rubber stamp to endorse any and all environmental regulation.
This paper is part of the PERC Policy Series of essays on timely environmental topics, published by the Property and Environment Research Center, a nonprofit research center located in Bozeman, Montana, that explores market solutions to environmental problems.
Read more:
https://www.perc.org/2019/04/08/what-went-wrong-with-wotus/