Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Chair, this particular amendment is a very simple and straightforward amendment. It deals with ranching lands that have been used for more than 40 years. It gives the ranchers the flexibility they need without Washington bureaucrats second-guessing their operations.

In Arizona and, in fact, the entire Western United States, drought cycles can last decades. In fact, Arizona and much of the West have been in a 30-year drought. Under the current 5-year window, pauses that ranchers and farmers might take can often revert to wetlands, triggering EPA oversight that locks out grazing.

My amendment recognizes the reality of the West and protects these parcels so they can return to production when conditions improve without fear of Federal reclamation. During the Biden administration, expansive WOTUS interpretations treated dry washes and ephemeral streams as navigable waters, piling on permits that crippled ranchers and farmers in the West.

Without grazing, it triggers something more devastating in some respects, which is wildfires. We have had a bit of a wet year. We have grasslands in part of the West now that are 2 feet in height. When the summer comes and the heat comes and they dry up, this will trigger massive wildfires.

Ranchers in my own district have spent hundreds of thousands, even millions, on compliance costs, environmental assessments, and legal fees just to access lands they have stewarded for generations and, in some case, almost 100 years.

This overreach hurts family ranchers and contributes to a shrinking U.S. cattle herd, now at its lowest level since the 1950s, driving beef prices up more than 14 percent in the last year. By opening more land and cutting red tape, this amendment empowers ranchers to expand grazing, manage habitat, control wildfires, and meet market needs.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Chair, what I would suggest is that folks come out West and take a look at the land. Take a look at land that has been determined to be wetlands, dry washes, and ephemeral streams. Then ask the question: Why is that a wetland?

When we get great rains, what, once every 3 years, that wash gets filled. When we do not allow grazing, what happens is there is time for wildfires. The habitat is endangered, and things aren't better; they are worse. This amendment helps cure that.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of any time.

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Chair, I think we have made the case here. We are not abandoning lands. We are taking lands that have been in production for over 40 years. They have to let it lie fallow and let it grow.

My colleagues across the aisle are saying: We don't care if they have to let it lie fallow. We don't care what the reality is in the West. All we care about is protecting the bureaucratic rule.

Mr. Chair, that is a doggone shame because beef production is incredibly low right now. Beef consumption is projected to be 28.6 billion pounds this year. It is falling because of high prices.

What are we doing? We are saying we are going to import it from Argentina. When a county in my State normally has 60,000 head, and over the last 10 years that has gone down to 25,000 head, that is because of this rule that needs to be changed.

Mr. Chair, I urge passage of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Chair, I want to give context to folks about the West, but, particularly, my own home State. In my State, which is the sixth largest geographically in the Nation, only 18 percent of the land is privately owned. All of the rest, 82 percent, is controlled by a government entity, State, Federal, or reservation.

My amendment is common sense and targeted. It directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to review lands under their jurisdiction within 1 year and identify parcels suitable for water recharge projects like aquifer recharge and surface infiltration.

That is a very limited scope of the federally controlled land in Arizona. It streamlines permitting under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and it minimizes red tape through categorical exclusions in collaboration with State agencies.

This ensures Federal lands become partners in water management, not barriers, allowing Arizona communities to secure the water they need.

In Arizona, water is life, yet over 95 percent of rainfall evaporates before it can even recharge aquifers. Even a small increase in recharge could substantially boost underground water supplies in Arizona.

Drought cycles and Federal restrictions have idled vast areas and threatened water security. My amendment promotes recharge efforts on Federal lands, giving States the tools to capture and store water before it is lost.

Mr. Chair, I want you to know, in the 18 percent of land, we lead the world in recharge. We lead the world in recharge, and when you can recharge underground aquifers, Mr. Chair, you save lives and you promote good environmental quality. Under the Biden administration, routine water projects became regulatory nightmares with EPA restrictions untailored to Arizona's desert reality.

Securing permits often means chaotic delays from Federal bureaucracies, even to access water on lands the Federal Government controls, which is over 80 percent of Arizona. With only 18 percent of Arizona privately owned, streamlined Federal permitting is essential.

My amendment delivers by identifying hydrologically suitable Federal land and cutting bureaucracy.

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Chairman, this amendment empowers local entities to expand recharge efforts keeping aquifers full and communities strong in Arizona and the West. Arizona's rural economy depends on agriculture and ranching. We cannot allow water shortages to slow growth or drive up food costs nationwide.

By investing in groundwater and stormwater recharge, this amendment increases supplies, lowers costs for farmers, and strengthens the domestic food chain. It removes red tape so Arizona can secure water for future generations.

Identifying Federal lands for recharge is simple, it is necessary, and it is appropriate. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

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