The US House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 28 approved a joint resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s new “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, calling it “flawed” and “overreaching.”
The committee said H.J. Res. 27 “eases regulatory burdens” for farmers, small businesses, manufacturers, home and infrastructure builders, local communities, and water districts, while also ensuring water quality under the Clean Water Act (CWA). H.J. Res 27 is part of a package of General Service Administration (GSA) resolutions that the committee said will save taxpayers more than $382 million.
“As American families and businesses continue suffering under the economic crises caused by the disastrous Biden policies of the last two years, this administration has inexplicably decided to move the country back toward the overreaching, costly, and burdensome WOTUS regulations of the past,” said Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.).
“Congress has the authority and responsibility to review onerous rules like this one handed down from the Executive Branch, and I’m proud that our committee voted to preserve regulatory clarity and prevent such overzealous, unnecessary, and broadly defined federal power,” he added.
Officially announced on Dec. 30 (GM Jan. 6, p. 1) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers, the new WOTUS rule claims to restore protections that were in place prior to 2015 under the CWA, but with “updates to reflect existing Supreme Court decisions, the latest science, and the agencies’ technical expertise.” The rule was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 18.
The House committee resolution, which passed on a 30-22 vote, seeks to void the WOTUS rule before it takes effect on March 20. Several legal challenges have already been mounted against the rule, including a lawsuit filed on Feb. 16 by the attorneys general of 23 states (GM Feb. 24, p. 30) and an earlier lawsuit filed on Jan. 18 by a coalition of 17 trade groups (GM Jan. 27, p. 1).
“With today’s committee action, the House has taken the first step necessary to rescind the Biden administration’s flawed WOTUS rule,” said Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-N.C.). “This rule needs to be repealed so Americans across the country are protected from subjective regulatory overreach making it harder to farm, build, and generate economic prosperity.”
In all, five lawsuits have now been lodged against the new WOTUS rule, Bloomberg reported. The cases are Am. Farm Bureau Fed’n v. EPA, S.D. Tex., No. 3:23-cv-00020, complaint filed 1/18/23; Texas v. EPA, S.D. Tex., No. 3:23-cv-00017, complaint filed 1/18/23; Kentucky v. EPA, E.D. Ky., No. 3:23-cv-00007, complaint filed 2/22/23; Kentucky Chamber of Commerce v. EPA, E.D. Ky., No. 3:23-cv-00008, complaint filed 2/22/23; and W. Virginia v. EPA, D.N.D., No. 3:23-cv-00032, complaint filed 2/16/23.