Gibbs Introduces Bills to Rein in EPA Bureaucrats

Press Release

The day after the U.S. Senate confirmed Michael Regan as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Congressman Bob Gibbs (OH-07) reintroduced two bills to rein in the EPA and protect farmers, landowners, and businesses from overzealous bureaucrats.

The Reducing Unnecessary Regulations on Agricultural Lands (RURAL) Act reverses the outcome of a 2009 US Circuit Court decision that required and unnecessary and costly second permit when spraying pesticides that have already received EPA approval. The bill will bring certainty to the agriculture community while allowing farmers to continue their commitment to protecting the environment.

The Revoking EPA's Tyrannical Ruling Over Approved Commercial Tasks Involving no Violations of Environmental (RETROACTIVE) Policy Act reforms the permitting process for Section 404 permits to prevent the EPA from retroactively vetoing permits despite no permit or environmental violations occurring.

After introducing the two bills, Congressman Gibbs released the following statement:

"EPA bureaucrats are actively obstructing environmentally responsible economic progress with the power to retroactively veto permits. Revoking permits for no reason is not only an abuse of their authority, but also an abuse of the American social contract between the governed and the government. Why would entrepreneurs and small business owners risk capital by opening or expanding a business or product requiring a permit when a federal bureaucrat can revoke that permit without warning? The RETROACTIVE Policy Act will put a halt to the EPA's power grab.

"The RURAL Act ensures farmers and local governments are not forced to obtain a costly, duplicative permit while using products already approved by the EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. This is a commonsense measure to eliminate a redundant permit that even President Biden's Secretary of Agriculture says provides "little or no additional environmental protection in return.' Removing this requirement will make it easier for local governments to responsibly prevent mosquito-borne illnesses and farmers to conscientiously protect their crops."

About the RETROACTIVE Policy Act (bill text can be found here):

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has authority to issue Section 404 permits for "dredge and fill" activities. Under this section of CWA, the Army Corps and EPA must work together to identify potential environmental issues if a permit were to be approved and EPA then must provide the public with written findings and reasoning for vetoing the Section 404 permit.

In 2010, the EPA pulled the permit for Arch Coal in West Virginia despite the company being in full compliance and even conducting an extensive environmental review before the permit was issued in 2007. Congressman Bob Gibbs, an advocate for reforming the federal regulatory framework, introduced this bill in response to this incident.

About the RURAL Act (bill text can be found here):

The bill clarifies that pesticides regulated and approved under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) do not need permitting approval under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which only adds bureaucracy and compliance costs for organizations that spray pesticides for public health.

The same bill was passed in 2016 at the height of the Zika virus outbreak. Congressman Gibbs wrote an op-ed for CNBC.com highlighting how the legislation would help prevent the spread of Zika.

Source