WASHINGTON -- Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers from moving forward with its Waters of the U.S. rule, which would expand the agency's authority over bodies of water including small ponds, creeks, ditches and other occasionally wet areas.
The Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014 would prohibit the EPA and the Corps from further developing or administering the proposed rule in any form, and reaffirm the authority of state and local officials to determine how non-jurisdictional waters should be regulated.
"What we did today in passing this bill was a decisive and quick response to the dramatic overreach by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by stopping this rule in its tracks," says Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. "The bill requires consultation with state and local governments. That is, after all, the constitutional breakdown of jurisdiction over the waters. It's not all federal jurisdiction. In fact, the vast majority of jurisdiction, as per our constitution, is to states."
A new interactive website shows land likely to be regulated by the rule, says the National Pork Producers Council, which is among the agricultural groups involved in the website.
According to information from the council:
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Maryland-based Geosyntec Consultants used U.S. Geologic Survey data to develop maps of 17 states, depicting the areas that would fall under the rule's jurisdiction. Coverage areas would more than double in most of the 17 states; Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana are among the 17. North Dakota is not.
To see the map, Click here
