Oberstar Blasts Supreme Court Clean Water Ruling

Statement

Oberstar Blasts Supreme Court Clean Water Ruling

Two U.S. Supreme Court rulings have created additional red tape for Minnesota property owners and are costing taxpayers millions in added road construction costs. Congressman Jim Oberstar says new statistics released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) show that clean water permits for building and road construction projects are taking up to six months longer under new rules imposed by the Supreme Court.

"I was astounded by how badly the Supreme Court acted in this case, legislating from the bench," said Oberstar. "It was a judicial fumble of the highest order." Oberstar has introduced "The Clean Water Restoration Act legislation to reverse these Supreme Court rulings, and allowing the federal government to enforce the Clean Water Act under the same rules it had operated under for the past 30 years.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that many streams, lakes and wetlands that had been covered by the Clean Water Act of 1972 are no longer under the jurisdiction of the federal law. The court then required the Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a complex process to decide which waters are regulated and which are not.

The resulting 12-page form and 86-page instruction book is increasing dramatically the processing times for clean water permits. In July of last year, the Corps' St. Paul office, which handles permits for Minnesota, had a backlog of 365 permits and was processing nearly 400 applications a month. This July, the permit backlog had grown to 572, but the number of permits processed dropped to 75. Officials at the Corps say that their permit processing has slowed to a crawl because they are trying to comply with the Supreme Court mandate that went into effect this spring.

Oberstar says the permitting backlog will delay construction projects ranging from new homes to shopping centers. Additionally, it will cause taxpayers to spend even more to upgrade and maintain roads and bridges. "All the delay means the cost of materials goes up. We've seen a 30 percent increase in the cost of cement, steel and aggregate over the past five years and it's accelerated even more in the first six months of this year. This delay, following the Supreme Court decisions, is driving up the cost of highway construction and maintenance, delaying projects and delaying hiring and job opportunities," said Oberstar.

St. Louis County officials estimate that permitting delays caused by the Supreme Court rulings will stall road construction projects by a full construction season, costing taxpayers an additional $1 to $2 million each year due to inflation.

Oberstar's bill has bipartisan support with 170 cosponsors. He expects to move the legislation from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which he chairs, to the House floor for final passage this fall. A companion bill, sponsored by Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, is pending in the U.S. Senate.

Source