WASHINGTON, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President Tom Kuhn today issued the following statement commending the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their decision to rescind the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulations.

New EEI logo (PRNewsFoto/Edison Electric Institute)

"EEI's member companies are committed to a healthy environment and to a clean and affordable energy future. By rescinding the problematic Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, EPA Administrator Pruitt and the Army Corps of Engineers have taken an important step to reconsider a rule that, if left unchanged, would have triggered substantial new regulatory requirements for critical electric company operations, creating substantial compliance costs.

"As EEI and allied stakeholders consistently have noted through comments and through our participation in litigation challenging the current WOTUS rule, our industry supports a new rulemaking that more clearly and narrowly defines which waterbodies are subject to federal jurisdiction, and enhances opportunities to streamline energy infrastructure permitting. We also thank EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers for seeking more input from the states on the rulemaking, and look forward to working with their staffs as they review and revise the regulations."

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 60 international electric companies as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

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SOURCE Edison Electric Institute