Detroit News - House Votes to Block EPA from Redefining Waterway Rules

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The U.S. House on Tuesday voted 261 to 155 to approve legislation blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from moving forward with a rule redefining what types of waterways are subject to the Clean Water Act.

U.S. Reps. Candice Miller and Fred Upton, co-sponsors of the legislation, joined other Republicans from Michigan's delegation in applauding the bill's adoption. Michigan's five Democratic members opposed the bill.

"This proposed rule -- certain to have a devastating impact on American farmers -- is just another example of this administration overreaching its authority to advance its own political agenda," Miller said in a statement.

The measure would require the EPA to rescind its proposed regulations within 30 days and restart the rule-making process.

It incorporated an amendment by U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, that establishes a grace period for states to comply with the new rule on water resources.

Kildee wants states to have at least two years before the EPA could "federalize" local permitting authority for the discharge of pollutants into waterways. Kildee noted it took Michigan lawmakers more than a year to reach a consensus on reforms to its permitting program in 2013.

"My amendment would ensure that states that do this are able to continue to control their state permitting program, so that the people who know the state best and its waters best are able to comply," Kildee said on the House floor.

Republicans and farmers have said the draft rule as written is a "land grab" that would bring ditches and other water features on private and state lands under federal jurisdiction.

During debate Tuesday, U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, R-North Carolina, said, "the EPA has once again lost all common sense as it has decided to redefine waters of the U.S. ... to include that water puddled in your ditch after a rainstorm."

The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have said the rule would not significantly increase their jurisdiction. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill.

Defending the rule on the House floor Tuesday, Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-California, said it would provide more certainty and clarity to the regulatory process and reduce confusion. "It explicitly excludes ditches," Napolitano said.

In a statement, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland said the bill would undermine the the EPA's ability to safeguard waterways and "unnecessarily interferes with a federal rule-making process that is already open, transparent and responsive to the concerns of stakeholders."