In the News

U.S. Reps. Frank Lucas (R-OK), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), and Steve Womack (R-AR) praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army for replacing the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule with one that ends federal overreach.

Rep. Lucas said the new Navigable Waters Protection Rule will continue to protect the...nation’s farmers and landowners and subjected them to unprecedented federal overreach and divisive litigation,” the lawmaker said.

“Localities are best equipped to manage the water and land within its borders — and this new directive rightfully reverses a power grab by Washington bureaucrats under the previous administration,” Rep. Womack agreed.

Rep. Bucshon added that “the clarification that their farm ditches will no longer be regulated by the...as navigable waters is a commonsense change that provides ag producers certainty and ensures a proper balance exists between the federal government and a state’s right to protect their own water resources.”

“The new rule removes confusion and uncertainty about where federal jurisdiction ends and where state authority begins,” said Rep. Bucshon. “I applaud the Trump administration for keeping yet another promise they made to the American people.”

Rep. Womack, who said he’s fought diligently against the misguided WOTUS rule, also thanked the Trump administration “for taking decisive action and implementing a balanced approach.”

By Ripon Advance News Service  |  January 27, 2020