{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fulcher.house.gov/2021/07/15/id-42ac789e-aaca-47e7-99a0-99a268568aaf/", "Congressman Fulcher Comments on President Biden Signaling the Revival of WOTUS Regulations", "2021-07-15", "2021", "2021-07", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Russ Fulcher", "F000469", "fulcher.house.gov", "fulcher", "https://fulcher.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "Contact:\n\nAlexah Rogge\n\n202-225-6611\n\nalexah.rogge@mail.house.gov\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Russ Fulcher is pushing back on the EPA\u2019s recent announcement that it will look into restoring rules and definitions for the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulations implemented by the Obama Administration. In 2015, this rule established broad definitions that allowed the federal government access to regulate nearly every body of water, regardless of its agricultural use or location on private property.\n\nIn January of 2020, the rule was overturned by the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) under the direction of President Trump. This was a welcome change for Idahoans, as Congressman Russ Fulcher pointed out upon its instatement last January, \u201cI commend the Trump Administration for keeping their promise and reestablishing the appropriate state authority in relation to the Clean Water Act. This new rule will help Idaho farms, businesses, and other job creators so our state can continue to thrive as an economic leader in our nation.\u201c\n\nNow, the Biden Administration has announced that the NWPR is under review, signaling a potential return to Obama-era regulations by overturning the NWPR and subsequently allowing the EPA to reinstate and expand rules regarding water policy.\n\nThis potential action is the newest addition in a long line of environmental policies proposed by President Biden to \u201ctackle the climate crisis\u201d and has received significant opposition, particularly from rural states that were extremely burdened by the original WOTUS rule.\n\nIn April 2021, Congressman Fulcher joined Rep. Miller-Meeks\u2019 Resolution, H.Res.318, \u201cexpressing a sense of the U.S. House of Representatives that the Navigable Waters Protection Rule not be withdrawn or vacated.\u201d Rep. Fulcher commented on his co-sponsorship, \u201cIdaho farmers, cattlemen, and ranchers will continue to face burdensome red tape if there is no protection from the Obama-era WOTUS rule. The federal government must continue to work with the states to lessen this threat.\u201d\n\nMost recently, Congressman Fulcher and the Congressional Western Caucus wrote to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jaime Pinkham to express serious concerns with the Biden Administration\u2019s decision to potentially undo the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) and reopen the definition of \u201cwaters of the United States.\u201d\n\nThroughout his tenure in the Idaho State Senate and now in Congress, Congressman Fulcher has been a leader in the fight against the burdensome federal government overreach of WOTUS rules on Idahoans and the country, earning recognition in 2020 from the Food Producers of Idaho for his work on this issue.\n\nLearn more about the effects of WOTUS on Idaho in the video from Congressman Fulcher here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:03:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fulcher.house.gov/2021/07/15/id-42ac789e-aaca-47e7-99a0-99a268568aaf/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8147279731929302, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}