Chavez-DeRemer, Colleagues Seek to Halt New WOTUS Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – RealEstateRama – Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) joined Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (MO-06), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (NC-07), and over 150 of her colleagues in introducing a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on the Biden administration’s burdensome “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule. The rule, published last month by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would lead to sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered navigable water, having an enormous impact on small businesses, manufacturers, farmers, home and infrastructure builders, local communities, water districts, and private property owners.

“Farmers and ranchers, business owners, manufacturers, and private property owners across Oregon rely on a consistent regulatory environment to make decisions. Abrupt and heavy-handed changes will throw Oregonians into a world of uncertainty. That’s why it’s irresponsible to move forward with this new WOTUS rule, especially since the Supreme Court is still considering a related case, Sackett v. EPA. I joined my colleagues in introducing this resolution to stop this ill-timed rule, to provide Oregonians with much-needed certainty, and to stand up against burdensome regulations that constrain our rural economic sectors with unnecessary red tape,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

Background

If enacted, the resolution introduced today would terminate the administration’s WOTUS rulemaking utilizing the CRA. The CRA can be used by Congress to overturn certain final agency actions. An identical measure was also introduced in the U.S. Senate today by 49 senators, led by Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).

On January 18, 2023, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published the administration’s long-expected WOTUS rule, which:

• Voids the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, a rule that had provided much-needed clarity and certainty for the regulated community throughout the nation;
• Reverts back to the Obama administration’s era of greater uncertainty and expansive federal jurisdiction to regulate navigable waters under the Clean Water Act, including wetlands, ephemeral streams, and ditches;
• Moves the federal government towards a regulatory regime under which agency bureaucrats decide what is regulated, rather than working with those who will be affected, at a time when the Supreme Court has yet to issue an opinion on a pending WOTUS case (Sackett) that will directly impact the rule.

Full text of the resolution is available HERE.

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