Lummis Votes to Stop EPA Seizure of Wyoming Waters

Press Release

Today U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis voted for and the House passed H.R. 5078: the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014. The bill halts the Environmental Protection Agency's rulemaking to redefine the "waters of the United States" over which the agency has jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The rule would give the federal government unprecedented and nearly unlimited jurisdiction over waters currently managed by the states, contrary to repeated Supreme Court rulings that there are limits to federal authority under the Clean Water Act. In addition to stopping this rule proposed earlier this year with little state or local input, the bill halts another EPA rule imposing new burdens on the ability of agricultural producers to claim longstanding exemptions from Clean Water Act requirements. Instead, H.R. 5078 requires the EPA to actually consult with state and local officials to develop recommendations for what water is or is not covered by the Clean Water Act, reserving the final judgment on the matter to Congress.

"Today's passage of the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act will ensure that waters currently under state management will remain under state management, where they belong," said Rep. Lummis. "In Wyoming, water is our single most precious natural resource, which we guard jealously and without which our communities and economies could not survive. The agency is stretching the law to the point of breaking it, claiming jurisdiction over every pond, ditch, and stream in Wyoming no matter how small or isolated. Few, if any, bodies of water would be left to the long-standing, expert, and efficient governance of our State. This would disrupt water distribution, interfere with private property rights, and impose economic costs on families and businesses along the way. This legislation gives state and local governments a long overdue seat at the table and ensures Congress has final say over what water is and is not subject to the Clean Water Act."

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