A Republican-led Congress in 2015 would target for elimination a proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulation that would expand the federal government’s authority over the nation’s streams and wetlands.
Republicans, six seats away from winning the Senate, have been eager to introduce legislation that would stop the EPA from implementing new “Waters of the United States” guidelines that would further define which bodies of water the government can regulate.
But their efforts have been blocked by the Democratic majority.
If Republicans win the Senate gavel, expect legislative language that would either scrap the proposed rule entirely or defund it within government spending bills, GOP aides said.
“The appropriations process could be used to take away funding for implementation of that specific rule,” a GOP aide told the Washington Examiner.
Republican leaders have pledged that if they win the majority, they would stop several controversial EPA regulations, in particular the agency’s new restrictions on carbon emissions that have shuttered some coal plants.
The proposed water rule has garnered far less attention, but it is high on the list of GOP priorities in the 114th Congress, aides said.
The EPA and proponents of the rule, including most Democrats, believe clarifying the law is necessary to protect the environment and ensure water remains clean and safe. Two Supreme Court rulings left vague exactly how much authority the EPA can wield over water that is non-navigable, such as wetlands and streams that are dry parts of the year.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy has insisted the EPA is merely adding clarity to the 1972 law and is not trying to dictate local land use decisions.
But criticism of the proposal has increased among farming and business groups.
Earlier this month, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, in an unusual move, recommended that the EPA withdraw the rule, citing “significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.” The SBA said it believes the EPA rule was formulated “in error.”
The GOP-led House passed a bill in September that would block the rule, but they would have to re-introduce the legislation in the new Congress since the Senate did vote on it.
In the Senate, Republicans are lining up to take aim at the proposal, particularly lawmakers who represent farming communities, where there is mounting opposition.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he’ll include a provision in the 2015 energy and water spending bill that would block the EPA from spending money on the rule’s implementation.
“The Waters of the U.S. rule is not only a violation of private property rights, but it subjects our farmers and ranchers to a burdensome and costly new regulation,” Hoeven said earlier this month to members of farming trade associations meeting in Bismarck. “To make matters worse, it will also impede our efforts to build the housing, hotels, retail stores, roads and bridges necessary to maintain our high quality of life and our dynamic economic growth.”
It’s unclear when or if the EPA will implement the regulation. The agency has twice extended the public comment period, which now ends on Nov. 14.
The proposal has broad Democratic support, particularly from lawmakers whose districts have experienced water contamination.
During September’s debate on the House bill, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, made the case for the new rule by carrying to the House floor a jar of green water, poisoned by algae, which had shut down Toledo’s water supply in August.
“Instead of helping clean up the water for future generations, this Republican bill takes America backward,” Kaptur argued. Republican lawmakers have asked McCarthy to withdraw the proposal.
Senate Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sent a letter last week to McCarthy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, calling the proposed rule an executive branch overreach that would threaten the rights of homeowners, farmers, business owners and local communities.
The rule would clarify which bodies of water the EPA can regulate under the 1972 Clean Water Act, which governs navigable waters.
“With few exceptions, it would give the agencies unlimited regulatory authority over all state and local waters, no matter how remote or isolated such waters may be from truly navigable waters,” the senators wrote.
