{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://mullin.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1396", "Western Caucus Applauds EPA and Trump Admin's Action To Reverse Job-Killing WOTUS Rule", "2018-12-11", "2018", "2018-12", "Republican", "House", "OK", "Markwayne Mullin", "M001190", "mullin.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, members of the Congressional Western Caucus commended the EPA's official reversal of WOTUS:\r\nChairman Paul Gosar (AZ-04): \"Like a villain in Scooby Doo, the past Administration almost got away with an unparalleled expansion of Federal power. The WOTUS land and water-grab rule proposed by the Obama Administration was one of the greatest regulatory threats to the West and rural communities. Fortunately, this legally-dubious effort was unmasked for what it was by the Supreme Court and this Administration. I'm happy to see some sanity restored to Clean Water Act implementation. Thank you Acting Administrator Wheeler and President Trump for taking the lead and crafting a definition that adheres to the original law, promotes extremely clean and safe waterways, and remains Federalist in its nature.\" Executive Vice Chairman Scott Tipton (CO-03): \"The Obama Administration's Waters of the United States Rule (WOTUS) was one of the most onerous federal water and land grabs in this nation's history, usurping long-held state water law, threatening access to private water rights and jeopardizing the success of the economy. The damaging impact of WOTUS cannot be disregarded, so the EPA's proposed new rule is welcome news. It is high time that we provide certainty to America's farmers, ranchers and landowners, whose livelihoods rely on water.\" Vice Chairman for Indian Affairs and Oceans Don Young (AK-At Large): \"The Obama-era WOTUS rule is a shining example of federal overreach. I'm pleased to see Administrator Wheeler take action in implementing President Trump's promise to overturn this shortsighted rule. I will continue to work with this administration to ensure state and local governments are able to effectively manage their waters without the unnecessary and inconsistent oversight of the federal government.\" Chief Rules Officer Dan Newhouse (WA-04): \"I applaud the EPA's decision to repeal the burdensome WOTUS rule and give clarification to land owners, farmers, and ranchers across the country. The Obama Administration's WOTUS rule gave the federal government unprecedented power to expansively interpret the definition of a navigable waterway.' I know farmers and ranchers in Central Washington will continue to strive to be good stewards of their land and the environment, and the Trump Administration's newly-defined rule will finally give them the certainty they deserve.\" Chief Regulatory Reform Officer Andy Biggs (AZ-05): \"I support Acting Administrator Wheeler's efforts to change course from the unconstitutional Obama-era WOTUS rule. This rule is a blatant attack on property rights and is an expansion of government bureaucracy. I am hopeful that this new administrative action will bring much-needed relief to farmers, ranchers, and miners across the West. I continue to call on Congress to codify the administration's positive steps.\" Rep. Markwayne Mullin (OK-02):The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule has been detrimental to our country's farmers and ranchers since the day it was put in place by the Obama Administration. The federal government doesn't belong regulating every creek, ditch, and stream.This proposed replacement rule from the Trump Administration gives farmers, ranchers, and small business owners the power to take care of their backyards without the unnecessary red tape they face now. I applaud the Trump Administration for the proposed rule.\r\n\r\nBackground:\r\nCourtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency\r\nToday, December 11, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) proposed a revised definition of waters of the United States, which would delineate the scope of federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act in a clear and understandable way.\r\nThe agencies are concerned that the previous administration's 2015 Rule defining waters of the United States may have greatly expanded Washington's control over local land use decisions. The agencies' new proposal respects the constitutional and statutory limits of federal government to regulate navigable water under the Clean Water Act and gives states and tribes more flexibility to determine how best to manage waters within their borders. The agencies' new proposed definition will fulfill President Trump's commitment to end this federal overreach. It ends year of uncertainty over where federal jurisdiction begins and ends. It is clear and easy to understand. It will help landowners understand whether a project on his or her property will require a federal permit or not, without spending tens of thousands of dollars on engineering and legal professionals. This certainty and clarity will save Americans time and money while accelerating infrastructure projects and economic development.\r\nRight now, because of litigation, the 2015 waters of the United States rule is in effect in 22 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories; and the previous regulations, issued in the 1980s, are in effect in the remaining 28 states. This inconsistent regulatory patchwork creates uncertainty and hinders projects that can benefit both the environment and the economy. The proposed definition would establish national consistency and would rebalance the relationship between the federal government and states in managing land and water resources. States already have their own regulations for waters within their borders, regardless of whether they are federally regulated as waters of the United States. The agencies' new proposal will eliminate the time-consuming and uncertain process of determining whether a significant nexus exists between a water and a downstream traditional navigable water as directed under the agencies' 2008 Rapanos Guidance or whether a water has a significant nexus to a traditional navigable water, interstate water or territorial sea as codified in the agencies' 2015 Rule defining waters of the United States. EPA and the Army listened to those directly impacted by the regulations and are proposing a definition that includes the following key aspects:\r\n \r\n    Excludes ephemeral streams and related features.\r\n    Covers only adjacent wetlands that are physically and meaningfully connected to other jurisdictional waters.\r\n    Cuts most ditches from unnecessary federal regulation.\r\n    Eliminates the use of subjective tests to determine jurisdiction over individual waters.\r\n    Retains exclusions for groundwater, prior converted cropland, stormwater control systems, some wastewater recycling structures, groundwater recharge basins, and waste treatment systems from federal Clean Water Act regulation.\r\n    Regulates perennial and intermittent tributaries to traditional navigable waters.\r\n \r\n\r\nThe agencies will take comment on the proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The agencies will also hold an informational webcast on January 10, 2019, and will host a public hearing on the proposed rule in Kansas City, KS, on January 23, 2019. Additional information on both engagements is available at https://www.epa.gov/wotus-rule. Comments on the proposal should be identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0149 and may be submitted online. Go to https://www.regulations.gov \r\nCourtesy of the Congressional Western Caucus\r\nOne of the Western Caucus' main priorities is repealing the Obama Administration's Water of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which was finalized by former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in 2015. \r\nOn March 25, 2014, the EPA and the Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule that would assert Clean Water Act jurisdiction over nearly all areas with even the slightest of connections to water resources, including man-made conveyances. Specifically, this WOTUS Rule attempted to expand agency control over 60% of our country's streams and millions of acres of wetlands that were previously non-jurisdictional. The Obama Administration tried to make the case that waters of the United States refers not just to permanent bodies of navigable water, but to far smaller bodies of water including those that are tiny, seasonal or even ones that do not connect up with larger water systems. This was an astounding departure from longstanding interpretation of the Clean Water Act that expanded federal power to reach into every nook and cranny of our nation's waterways under a flimsy Commerce Clause argument. Family farmers were kept awake at night, worried that rains wouldn't let up before turning their puddles into regulated ponds and running them out of business in the process. Recreational water and marsh users were rightfully wary that Federal regulators would invade their turf and suddenly declare their sport of choice too harmful on the waterway. Developers preemptively pulled out of projects deemed at high risk of falling under federal environmental jurisdiction  all because the Feds may declare a nearby ditch jurisdictional. And when they do declare jurisdiction, it's not just water under the bridge. Individual Clean Water Act permits have taken an average of 788 days to process and $271,596 on the part of the applicant; fines and criminal liability await those who skirt these requirements. Lives and livelihoods are at stake.\r\nWOTUS negatively impacts states throughout the country by impeding upon state's rights, encroaching on private lands, and violating the civil liberties of many Americans.  On 05/21/2018, Western Caucus Member Jim Banks (IN-03) introduced an amendment to the Farm Bill that would repeal WOTUS. It passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 238-173 and 13 Democrats supporting repeal.\r\n \r\n    View Western Caucus Press Releases on WOTUS and the Farm Bill here and here.\r\n    View letter sent to Farm Bill Conferees by Reps. Banks and Walker, Western Caucus Members and 51 total Members urging repeal of WOTUS here.\r\n \r\n\r\nOn 07/19/2018, H.R. 6147, the Department of the Interior, Environment, Financial Services, and General Government Appropriations Act of 2019 passed the House of Representatives.\r\n \r\n    One of the numerous provisions that the bill contained was a Western Caucus provision to repeal WOTUS.\r\n    View the Western Caucus Press Release here.\r\n \r\nLast Congress, more than 170 bipartisan members cosponsored legislation calling for WOTUS to be repealed and another 120 bipartisan signed a letter urging repeal. That request can be found here.", 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": ["http://mullin.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1396"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.900565180927515, "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"}