{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=c1bb0261-c8c0-4b8b-bf3a-ee29e2889382", "Hatch Defends Utahns Against Expansion of Federal Authority Over Land and Water", "2015-11-03", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Orrin Hatch", "H000338", "www.hatch.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON LawmakersvotedTuesdayon a measure that would halt the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) efforts to establish greater federal authority over land and water. TheFederal Water Quality Protection Act,cosponsored by Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, directsthe EPA and theArmyCorps of Engineers to withdraw the flawed rule and issue a revised proposal.\r\nIf the EPA gets its way, federal bureaucrats would expand their regulatory authority to nearly every stream and pond in the United States, saidOrrin Hatch, R-Utah. \"States like Utah are best positioned to manage our own water resources. The last thing we need is another top-down Washington approach seeking to micromanage stateresponsibilities.\r\nIn June, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers issued a finalWaters of the United States(WOTUS) rule that expanded the scope of federal authority over land and water at the expense of Utahns.The Clean Water Act, which the administration has claimed isthe basis forthe rule, added federal protections for navigable waterways and left most bodies of water to be managed by the states. Butcritics have called the latest EPA rule a massive land grab that will expose Utah farmers, ranchers, home owners, and businesses to significant compliance costs and new fines. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,WOTUS would require Utah farmers, ranchers, and other business to obtain federalpermits at a median cost of $155,000.\r\nThe rule allows the federal government to regulate any water discharge that eventually drains into the Colorado River, the Green River, the Virgin River, the Paria River, or other qualifying water body, affecting everything from desert washes to small ponds and irrigation ditches on Utahs family farms and ranches.\r\nThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whichdescribed the rule assignificant jurisdictional overreach, catalogued problems the rule posed to business.Retailers who salt a parking lot in the winter to keep customers from slipping on the ice might need a federal permit.Wood product manufacturers and other makers of building materials that produce dust and dirt that washes into ditches next to their plants would beforced to apply for a federal permit to clean those ditcheswhile doing nothing to improve water quality.The raw materials for sand, stone, and gravel are often located near water, and their availability could be constrained by the rule. Finally,WOTUS would make maintaining the ditches along140,000 miles of track running across the countrya federal issue.\r\nUtah Organizations Object to EPA Overreach\r\nIn a statement, theUtah Farm Bureau Federation praisedSenatorHatchs effort tostop this regulatory overreach and noted that the ruleprovides no clarity, no certainty and Farm Bureau sees no limits to the power the agency is seeking!\r\nIt creates tremendous uncertainty for farmers and ranchers across Utah and the nation as the Obama Administration seeks to expand federal jurisdiction over the states and private property rights.It is clear under the SWANCC and Rapanos decisions, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have set limits on EPA regulation. Foremost, Utah Farm Bureau is concerned with the expansive definition oftributary' including landscape features that will ultimately bring farmers irrigation ditches and Utahs many dry gullies that flow only during occasional rains under the new WOTUS definition and EPA regulation.\r\nThe American Farm Bureau Federation also criticized the rule and supports the SenatesFederal Water Quality Protection Act:Itaddresses critical concerns we have with EPAs 'waters of the U.S.' proposed rule. There can be no question that the rule poses a serious threat to farmers, ranchers and private landowners. The proposal, if finalized, would allow EPA to regulate well beyond the limits authorized by Congress and affirmed by the Supreme Court.\"\r\nThe Senate measure also includes a provision that requires the EPA and the Army Corps to work closely withstates and local governments to develop a new rule. The U.S. Conference of Mayors praised the provision asconsistent with our belief that states and localities should be consulted in meaningful ways on rules before they are formally proposed, especially if the rule will have a significant impact on capital costs, operations and mandates for the people we serve as required under federal law.\r\nScience Behind WOTUSIs Disputed by Members of the Army Corps of Engineers\r\nOfficials in the Army Corps of Engineers have actually challenged the administrations characterization of the rule as a joint effort of the EPA and the Corps. Major General John Peabody,Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, has written multiple public letters disavowing the rule, stating that the administration shall not idenfiy the Corps as author, co-author, or substantive contributor, that it should not be referenced as an involved agency, and asked that itslogo be removed from any documents.\r\nGeneral Peabody also argued thatCorps data, used by EPA, has been selectively applied out of context, and mixes terminology and disparate data sets. EPA documents related to the rule contain numerous inappropriate assumptions with no connection to the data provided, misapplied data, analytical deficiencies and logical inconsistencies.\r\nInternal Army Corps of Engineer memos also suggest that certain provisions in the rule, including the 1500 ft. limitation and the 4000 ft. bright line rule, are not based on any science or law and are thus legally vulnerable.\r\nOfficials intheArmy Corps of EngineersQuestionedtheLegality of the Rule\r\nA federal district court hasalready enjoined the ruleandraised numerous constitutional questions. The Army Corp of Engineers now joins it in raisinglegal questions about the internal processes related to its development. According to General Peabody:\r\nThe draft final rule continues to depart significantly from the version provided for public comments, and that the corps recommendations relation to our serious concerns have gone unaddressed. Specifically, the current draft final rule contradicts long-standing and well-established legal principles undergirding CWA 404 regulations and regulatory practices, especially the decisive Rapanos Supreme Court decision. The rules contradictions with legal principles generate multiple legal and technical consequences that in the view of the Corps would be fatal to the rule in its current form.", 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://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=c1bb0261-c8c0-4b8b-bf3a-ee29e2889382"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.304049976170063, "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"}