releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=10a62620-0eb7-4665-841d-ee262f91a0a4
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=10a62620-0eb7-4665-841d-ee262f91a0a4 | Heitkamps Bipartisan Bill to Redo Waters of the U.S. Rule Gets Vote in Senate | 2015-11-03 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today voted for her bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate to do away with the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) Waters of the United States rule, which has caused North Dakotas farmers, ranchers, and small businesses immense confusion and uncertainty. Heitkamps bipartisan, pragmatic bill which she introduced in April with U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN), James Inhofe (R-OK), and John Barrasso (R-WY) would send the unworkable Waters of the U.S. rule back to the EPA to redo. Their bill would make sure the EPA addresses the concerns of the farmers, ranchers and small businesses impacted by the rule. While Heitkamps long-term solutions bill gained bipartisan backing, it ultimately fell just three votes short of the 60-votes needed. Heitkamp will continue to push for her bill by educating senators about the impact of the rule and build support so North Dakotas small business and agricultural communities are heard. Anytime I show someone from outside North Dakota around our state, I point out the Prairie Potholes which reinforce how there is water everywhere in North Dakota. The EPAs Waters of the U.S. rule compromises the work of farmers and ranchers by implementing sweeping rules that fail to distinguish between navigable bodies of water and Prairie Potholes. Thats just plain sloppy and potentially devastating for North Dakotas producers, said Heitkamp. Clean water is one of our most precious resources, and no one understands that more than farmers. Even if the Waters of the U.S. rule stays in limbo in the court system for some time or is ultimately struck down, that still isnt giving farmers certainty. Its disappointing my bipartisan bill didnt move forward today, but Im going to keep educating senators about the need for our bill and explaining why the concerns of farmers and ranchers must be incorporated into any rule. North Dakotans and all Americans expect Congress to make the final decision about this rule and provide much needed guidance on the issue, and thats what Im working to do. Heitkamp has long been fighting to do away with the current unworkable Waters of the U.S. rule to send it back to the EPA, and mandating that the agency revise it. For several months, Heitkamp worked on a legislative solution to this regulatory uncertainty, unveiling a long-term bipartisan legislative fix in April. Heitkamps Federal Water Quality Protection Act would require the EPA to revise the Waters of the U.S. rule by taking into consideration the concerns of farmers, ranchers, and small business owners the rule would impact. Just two months after its introduction, her bill passed in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Continuing her efforts to make sure the concerns of agricultural and small business workers are heard, Heitkamp brought Senator Donnelly to North Dakota in September to talk with agriculture, civic, and business leaders about the challenges they face as a result of the Waters of the U.S. rule. Heitkamp will also continue to closely monitor the legal proceedings of court cases pending to reject the rule and has already praised the injunction issued by the U.S. District Court of North Dakota in August to block the rule for 13 states, as well as the national suspension of the rule by U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last month. As she continues to monitor these judicial proceedings, Heitkamp will continue working to gain support for her bipartisan bill to provide North Dakotas agricultural community with the lasting certainty they need. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |