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House Panel to Vote on Bipartisan WOTUS Withdrawal Bill (HR 1732)

Source: American Retailers Association

On April 13, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would require the withdrawal of the EPA's flawed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) proposed rule. The Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015 (HR 1732) was introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs, and other members of Congress.

The Committee met to consider the bill on April 15. For information on the committee’s vote, click here. The Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC) sent a letter of support for this legislation. In addition, 33 states have formally requested the EPA withdraw the proposed rule.

BACKGROUND

In 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed the proposal without first properly consulting state and local authorities; without considering their rights, their responsibilities, their liabilities, and their budgets; and without realistically examining the potential economic and legal impacts on private citizens, farmers, and other stakeholders.

The proposed rule would significantly broaden the federal government’s power to regulate waters and adjacent lands.  The agencies’ actions in developing the rule threatens to undermine the federal-state regulatory partnership envisioned by Congress under the Clean Water Act.  Since the rule’s proposal, many states and local governments have objected to this erosion of that partnership and their authority, and over one million public comments have been submitted.

The Regulatory Integrity Protection Act requires the withdrawal of the rule, and requires the agencies to engage in outreach to stakeholders. This includes holding a federalism consultation with the states and local governments, consulting with and soliciting recommendations from other affected stakeholders, and carefully considering all public comments before putting forward a new proposed rule – as should have been done under the rulemaking process.

For more details about the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act (HR 1732), go to http://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/wotusepa_4.9.15.pdf

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