Republican Leaders Request Hearings on Clean Water Act Legislation

On June 22, top Republican leaders on the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Small Business Committees wrote to their Democratic counterparts and the Chairman of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee requesting hearings and public input opportunities on legislation that seeks to redefine waters of the U.S. The Republican leaders, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), and Sam Graves (R-Mo.), want hearings on the legislation before it reaches the House Floor.

The legislation, they said, “would have a great impact on Western irrigation projects, farming and ranch operations, mining and small businesses.”

The America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act (H.R. 5088) attempts to restore the definition of waters of the U.S. to its previous regulatory definition in 2001. The legislation is sponsored by Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.).

Oberstar seeks the change because of regulatory ambiguity created following by Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 531, U.S. 159, 51 ERC 1838 (2001), and Rapanos v. United States, 547, U.S. 715, 62 ERC 1481 (2006). The decisions significantly blurred the scope of waters that can be protected under the Clean Water Act and have created ambiguity in the NEPA permitting process.

The full letter is attached.