{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://herrerabeutler.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=324936", "Jaime Herrera Beutler, Kurt Schrader Applaud Supreme Court Ruling on \u201cForest Roads,\u201d Pledge to Keep Working to Protect Forests and Jobs", "2013-03-20", "2013", "2013-03", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Jaime Herrera Beutler", "H001056", "herrerabeutler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, the United States Supreme Court overturned an earlier Ninth Circuit Court decision that upended more than 35 years of Clean Water Act protection.  \r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      Today, the United States Supreme Court overturned an earlier Ninth Circuit Court decision that upended more than 35 years of Clean Water Act protection.\u00a0 Before today's Supreme Court ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court\u2019s decision would have required the dirt and rock runoff from forest roads to be treated the same \u2013 and require the same permitting \u2013 as industrial parking lots. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) and Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR) have led a bipartisan coalition opposing this onerous decision and resulting \u201cforest roads rule,\u201d introducing legislation last Congress that would have maintained the Clean Water Act protections.\u00a0 However, since that time the Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that forest roads are \u201cpoint sources\u201d of pollution which still leaves forest landowners, businesses, and state and local governments vulnerable to new lawsuits and unlimited regulations from the federal government. \u201cThe Supreme Court decision today is very good news for workers, small businesses, and communities throughout Southwest Washington \u2013 but we\u2019re not in the clear just yet,\u201d said Jaime.\u00a0 \u201cUntil we\u2019ve put clear protections into law, forest roads are still susceptible to job-killing federal regulations that simply aren\u2019t necessary to protect our forests and waterways.\u00a0 I\u2019ll continue leading efforts to preserve the Clean Water Act protections alongside Congressman Kurt Schrader, and preserving healthy ecosystems and a healthy economy.\u201d \u201cI applaud today\u2019s Supreme Court decision which upholds the EPA\u2019s long-standing policy of managing forest roads as non-point sources under the Clean Water Act,\u201d said Schrader. \u00a0\u201cThe next step in the process is for Congress to affirm today\u2019s ruling with legislation to codify in law that forest roads are indeed non-point sources. That\u2019s why I look forward to continue working with my Pacific Northwest colleague Rep. Herrera Beutler to reintroduce the Silviculture Regulatory Consistency Act to provide that certainty for our state and local governments as well as our private forest landowners.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://herrerabeutler.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=324936"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0005671065300703, "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"}