Kansas Common Sense: Fighting Against Government Overreach on Private Property

Statement

This week, I joined 29 of my Senate colleagues in introducing S. 2245, the Preserve the Waters of the U.S. Act, to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) from using their proposed "guidance" to change legal responsibilities under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This guidance document, which was sent in final form to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on February 21, 2012, significantly changes and expands what features are considered protected under the CWA. It makes substantial additions, such as a first time inclusion of ditches, ground water, potholes, gutters and other water features that may flow, if at all, only after a heavy rainfall.

These new regulations would make it harder for Americans to build in their backyards, grow crops, manage livestock, expand small businesses and carry out other activities on private lands without significant EPA permitting requirements. By issuing their final guidance, the EPA and the USACE are effectively taking authority over a wide array of water policy from states and placing that power in the hands of unelected federal bureaucrats. To change the legal responsibilities defined in the CWA through the guidance process without any congressional directive would set a dangerous precedent. I will continue to work towards swift passage of this legislation so that farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and small businesses can continue to make their own decisions about how they operate on their own property.

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