By RACHEL LANE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Farming organizations celebrated last week when the U.S. EPA’s Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule was officially repealed, but the celebration maybe years too soon.

During a meeting on Thursday, the Trump administration announced an end to the 2015 rule signed into law by former President Barack Obama. The controversial law faced legal challenges from the start. Some lawsuits tried to gain clarity on what the rule meant, while others called it an overreach by the federal government.

Farmers were hit particularly hard, as any waterway connected to another waterway was considered protected. But what if the waterway was only connected during flooding? The 2015 rule didn't clarify.

On Thursday, representatives from the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced the end of the rule. That doesn't end the fight, however, said Jesse J. Richardson Jr., professor of law and land use and sustainability at West Virginia University College of Law.

He opined the announcement will add to the confusion. And when the replacement rule is released this winter, it will make matters more complicated.

"Until Congress makes a decision or the Supreme Court makes a ruling about this," there will be no clarity, he explained.

Should farmers follow the 1976 Clean Water rule that WOTUS was meant to improve? Or should farmers follow the WOTUS guidelines? Ask a lawyer, Richardson said – and even then, be prepared to hear different answers from different attorneys.

Until the lawsuits start, all 50 states will be unified, using pre-WOTUS law. It won't last long, and he thinks the states will quickly be divided again as courts try to figure out which rule to follow – WOTUS or its repeal?

WOTUS challenges are moving through the court system, but it will likely take two years or more before a case reaches the Supreme Court, Richardson said.

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, spoke at the announcement last week. He said the 2015 rule was unreasonable and unworkable for farmers and created liabilities for them. He hopes the new rule is one page long and clearly understood, without lawyers.

"We are relieved to put it behind us. We are now working to ensure a fair and reasonable substitute that protects our water and our ability to work and care for the land,” he said.

“Farm Bureau’s multi-year effort to raise awareness of overreaching provisions was powered by thousands of our members who joined with an array of allies to achieve this victory for clear rules to ensure clean water.”

The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers are developing a new rule that protects waterways but is workable for farmers and business owners.

Davie Stephens, president of the American Soybean Assoc., said he agrees with the goal of assuring clean water, but WOTUS was impractical, especially for farmers and ranchers.

"Creeks, streams, and ditches on our land were unduly subjected to a broad, one-size-fits-all regulatory definition that made no sense for individual farms and went beyond the intent of Congress. This is great news for soybean and other farmers," he said.

Farmers are the nation's original environmental stewards, working to ensure natural resources remain pristine, said National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. President Jennifer Houston. Farmers voluntarily work to implement conservation practices to protect water resources.

"The 2015 WOTUS Rule was an illegal effort by the federal government to assert control over both land and water, significantly impacting our ability to implement vital conservation practices," she said.