Goodlatte Votes to Block EPA Overreach

Statement

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act. Congressman Bob Goodlatte, a cosponsor of this bill, released the following statement:

"In Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay watershed we have already seen the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) micromanaging state and local water decisions. The proposed Waters of the U.S. rule would only serve to expand this type of regulatory overreach to the entire United States. Congress intended that the states and federal government work together to implement the Clean Water Act. Instead, the Obama Administration is handing down its own murky definition.

"The impact of the Waters of the U.S. rule on farmers, landowners, local economies, and jobs is very real. As the Administration works to put the finishing touches on this rule, it is critical that Congress stop it in its tracks. The Regulatory Integrity Protection Act would give the Administration 30 days to withdraw the current proposed rule. The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers would then be tasked with developing a new proposed rule that actually takes into account the economic impacts of the rule and recommendations from state and local governments as well as stakeholders affected by the rule.

"Protecting America's waterways is critical, but this should be a collaborative approach. We need common sense policies that will protect water quality without limiting economic growth and unfairly over-regulating local agricultural producers and economies. Today's bipartisan vote was an important step to rein in the EPA and protect the farmers, landowners, and local economies that stand to be harmed by this rule."

Background: Last year, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers issued a proposed rule to expand the scope of the term "waters of the United States," which are those waters that are regulated under the Clean Water Act. This move would expand the EPA's authority over regulating waterways.

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