Today, March 10th, 2022, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) joined over 200 House Republicans, led by the Republican Leader of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Sam Graves (MO-06), and the Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04), in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) renewing calls for the Biden Administration to drop its plan to expand the scope of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS).
“Water is one of our most precious natural resources. In Iowa and in rural communities throughout the country, we recognize that farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists,” said Miller-Meeks. “WOTUS drastically expanded the jurisdiction over bodies of water like streams and ponds that the Clean Water Act never intended to regulate. Instead of burdening private citizens with confusing and ambiguous standards that could end up costing them thousands of dollars, we should work to ensure that the federal government’s clean water efforts are focused on clearly defined bodies of water.”
Background:
Beyond their opposition to the unnecessary burdens a broader WOTUS definition would have on businesses, communities, and private citizens, the Members strongly oppose such a move until the recently announced WOTUS-related Supreme Court case (Sackett) is decided. In the letter to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael L. Conner, they argue that premature rulemaking would cause more confusion for impacted parties, waste taxpayer resources, and hinder efforts to improve U.S. infrastructure and protect clean water.
Miller-Meeks had previously introduced a resolution to uphold the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) into law. This resolution would express the sense of the House that clean water is a national priority and that the April 21st, 2020, NWPR should not be withdrawn or vacated.
In June of 2021, Miller-Meeks and Newhouse slammed the Administration’s announcement that it intended to revise the definition of WOTUS and rescind the NWPR.
Miller-Meeks and Newhouse joined Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Steve Daines (R-MT) in a July 2021 letter to the EPA to express serious concerns with the Biden Administration’s decision to reopen the WOTUS definition of 2020.
In January of 2022, Miller-Meeks and Newhouse called for a halt to the EPA’s rulemaking, based on the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the Sackett case.
Original source can be found here
