Letter to the Hon. Michael S. Regan, Administrator US Environmental Protection Agency, to Jaime A. Pinkham, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works - Arkansas Delegation Asks EPA to Keep Navigable Waters Protection Rule

Letter

Dear Administrator Regan and Acting Assistant Secretary Pinkham:

On June 9, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced plans to repeal and replace the Trump administration's Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR). The members of the Arkansas congressional delegation adamantly oppose this decision, which will harm businesses, foresters, and farmers across the State of Arkansas. The NWPR preserves our waterways while giving producers and landowners the clarity they need to farm and build without burdensome regulations and government overreach. It is our position that states and localities should regulate waters within their borders--not the federal government.

The Trump administration championed cooperative federalism with regard to the environment, and the current administration should continue this practice going forward. The Obama administration's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule was a vast and vague expansion of federal regulation that placed significant hardships on Arkansans and took authority away from states and localities. Arkansans are good stewards of the land and should make their own decisions about their own property--as they have for generations--without the EPA looking over their shoulders.

Instead of returning to the mistaken policies of the past, we respectfully ask that the EPA and the Corps reconsider their proposal to repeal and replace the current rule, which will have a dire impact on our state.

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