Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair, our permitting system is a great burden to our Nation. It delays infrastructure projects indefinitely, stops us from bringing energy sources online, and deters investments in our communities. Let's make no mistake, permitting is holding back America.
H.R. 7023, the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act, seeks to unleash the American economy. It is a package of commonsense reforms that will reduce regulatory burdens, establish certainty, and increase transparency in our permitting system.
This bill will, in turn, create opportunities for home builders, farmers, loggers, and small business owners alike, enticing them to invest in projects that help our local economies grow and our rural communities flourish.
I highlight section 5 of H.R. 7023. Section 5 is the language of my bill, the Reducing Permitting Uncertainty Act.
Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act allows the EPA to veto a dredge and fill permit. However, the EPA has taken it upon itself to proactively reject the permits and retroactively take away permits.
In a country of due process, it seems absurd that a Federal agency can dictate whether a project is good or bad before an application is even filed.
If we reject ideas before they mature, we crush any chance of ingenuity, growth, and progress in this country. Do innovators no longer deserve the opportunity to make their case and share their creative solutions?
Further, the ability to take away permits when projects are well underway is outrageous, a constant threat that the government will waltz in and shut down years of hard work--talk about creating an unwelcoming atmosphere for our job creators.
This section of H.R. 7023 is not a dramatic departure from the status quo. It is clarifying a timeframe.
When an application is pending, the EPA can make a determination whether or not to veto. It does not change the process, nor does it take away the EPA's right to veto. It just makes things clearer for those who want to bring projects online and help unleash the American economy. It returns our process to one that is science-and fact-based, rather than politically motivated.
Mr. Chair, I thank Congressman Rouzer for his work on this package of reforms.
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