North Dakota political leaders described the Trump administration’s revised Waters of the United States rule as a major shift toward regulatory clarity for agriculture and energy. During the first federal listening session for WOTUS, North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer said the proposal reflects years of pushback from landowners and state officials. “We worked for nearly a decade to stop rules that would have given Washington control over private land and everyday farm work,” Cramer said during the listening session. “The Trump administration is finally putting forward a rule that respects property rights and gives producers the certainty they deserve to operate without fear of federal overreach.” Governor Kelly Armstrong emphasized how deeply past WOTUS interpretations would have reached into rural North Dakota. “The Biden-era WOTUS rule was an existential crisis in North Dakota because it would have put more than 80 percent of the state under federal control,” Armstrong said. “On our ranch north of Medora there is a dry creek that has not had water in more than 150 years, yet it would have been regulated as a waterway. This new rule recognizes the difference between real waterways and dry ground and finally listens to North Dakota producers.”
