Griffin Votes to Protect Arkansans from Burdensome EPA Proposal

Press Release

Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after the House passed the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act (H.R. 5078):

"The EPA's proposed expansion of the "waters of the United States' would subject Arkansans, especially farmers and ranchers, to costly and overly burdensome federal regulations, harm our agriculture industry that is vital to our state's economy and replace state and locally based conservation efforts with a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach. Our vote today stops this massive government overreach in its tracks and requires federal agencies to consult with states and local governments when proposing these regulatory measures on local waters."

H.R. 5078 passed the House by a vote of 262-152. According to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, H.R. 5078 will uphold the federal-state partnership to regulate the nation's waters by preserving existing rights and responsibilities with respect to "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) from developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering or enforcing:

- The proposed rule that would redefine WOTUS under the CWA, or using the rule as a basis for future administrative actions that would undermine the federal-state partnership or usurp Congress' express authority to change the scope of the CWA through a redefinition of WOTUS.

- Any agency guidance that would expand the scope of waters covered by the CWA, as the Administration's proposed WOTUS rule and draft guidance would do.

- The agencies' interpretive rule that would broaden regulation of the agricultural community by restricting the exemption from CWA Section 404 permitting for certain agricultural conservation practices.

The bill also requires the EPA and the Corps to engage in a federalism consultation with the states and local governments by:

- Jointly consulting with relevant state and local officials to formulate recommendations for a consensus regulatory proposal that would identify the scope of waters to be covered under the CWA, and those waters to be reserved for the states to determine how to regulate. The proposal would need to be consistent with the applicable rulings of the United States Supreme Court.

- Preparing a draft report describing the recommendations for a consensus regulatory proposal developed as a result of the consultation with relevant state and local officials, and publish the draft report in the Federal Register for public review and comment.

- Preparing and submitting to Congress a final report describing the recommendations for a consensus regulatory proposal, based on the consultation with relevant state and local officials and the public review of the draft report.

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