Graves Leads Fight to Defund 'Deeply Flawed' EPA Regulation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves issued the following statement after today calling on Congressional leadership to block funding for the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule can be defunded in the next congressional spending bill and then permanently repealed with the arrival of a new presidential administration in January.

“The Obama administration rewrote standing law to extend its authority onto farms and private property,” Rep. Graves said. “WOTUS represents everything people distrust and resent about Washington, giving unaccountable bureaucrats the right to tell farmers and property owners how to manage their land. But now, Congress has an opportunity to block funding for the rule and begin reversing all the damage it has done. I look forward to fully repealing WOTUS as we continue this fight alongside the new administration in January.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: In April of 2014, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly released a proposed rule to clarify protection of streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA), forming WOTUS. The rule was developed without the EPA first consulting state and local authorities, and without realistically examining the potential economic impact on private citizens, farmers, and other stakeholders.

Earlier this year, Graves helped introduce the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act, which requires the EPA to withdraw WOTUS and gather stakeholder input before issuing any new rule. The bill passed the House after the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a report calling WOTUS’ rulemaking process “deeply flawed.”

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