Name: House Takes on Biden’s Waters of the United States Rule
Uploaded: 2023-02-17T10:56:27.000Z
Description: Representatives at a Congressional hearing moved closer to challenging President Joe Biden’s new rule defining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act, an issue pitting many farmers, ranchers, and other landowners against many environmentalists and federal bureaucrats.

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

NTD Plus

News

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Pentagon Scraps Deployment of 4,000 Troops to Poland

9/11 Memorial and Museum Adds 7th Moment of Silence

AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Launch Joint Venture to Tackle Dead Zones

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Trump Committed to US Defense, Prosperity, Amid China Talks: Expert

Jerome Powell Ends Tenure as Fed Chair

US Government Sues Chick-fil-A Over Religious Rights

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

California Gubernatorial Candidates Make Closing Pitches to Voters 

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Federal Judge Partly Blocks Texas Immigration Law

Trump Announces National Garden of American Heroes Plans

Top Officer: Navy Funding Could Lapse by July

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 15)

Paul Greaney is an NTD news anchor and producer. Since joining the company in 2018, he has anchored the station’s flagship Evening News broadcast, launched the NTD Business show, and produced documentary reports on pointed issues. 

The highlight of Paul’s time in the field was his coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Paul Greaney

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 11)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 5)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 4)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

Representatives at a Congressional hearing moved closer to challenging President Joe Biden’s new rule defining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act, an issue pitting many farmers, ranchers, and other landowners against many environmentalists and federal bureaucrats.

The meeting brought together members of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, now led by Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.).

“There’s no greater example of bureaucratic overreach under the Clean Water Act than the regulatory nightmare of complying with and understanding the definition of a ‘Water of the United States,'” Rouzer said during the Feb. 8 event.

Rouzer, Transportation Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and more than 140 other members of the House had issued a <a href="https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/wotus_cra_text.pdf">joint resolution of disapproval</a> on Feb. 2 regarding the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule.

Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) led all 49 Senate Republicans in issuing an identical piece of legislation that same day.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal year 2023 budget for the FBI, at the US Capitol in Washington on May 25, 2022. (Ting Shen/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

If both chambers pass their respective resolutions with a two-thirds majority, Biden’s Jan. 2023 WOTUS rule could be struck down even if he seeks to veto it—a prospect dimmed for GOPers by Democrats’ dominance in the Senate and the slimness of Republicans’ House majority.

Republicans say Biden’s new rule takes WOTUS back in time, to a more expansive standard like the one established under former President Barack Obama.

Some environmental advocates feel that fits the spirit of the original Clean Water Act. Amendments to that 1972 law provided the initial federal authority over “waters of the United States,” defined as “navigable waters.”
<h2>Trump’s 2020 WOTUS  ‘Too Lax’</h2>
They argue that former President Donald Trump’s 2020 WOTUS rule, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, is too lax. For one thing, it does not include ephemeral streams, groundwater, or some other wetlands.

“If the 2020 rule had taken water-quality science seriously, it would have acknowledged how important protecting wetlands and small streams is to protecting water quality everywhere,” Dave Owen, a professor at the University of California College of Law, said in <a href="https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20230208_owen.pdf">written testimony</a> to the hearing.

Trump’s rule was vacated by an Arizona judge in August 2021.

Biden, for his part, moved on WOTUS during his first day in office, pledging in an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/fact-sheet-list-of-agency-actions-for-review/">executive order</a> to review Trump’s rule.

Opponents of the Biden rule believe it to be overly broad, asserting it’s part of a general trend of the federal government accumulating too much power.

“Congress was well aware of the ecological importance of wetlands, but as recognized in the 1973 final report of the congressionally chartered National Water Commission, Congress left the regulation of isolated wetlands and waters to the states,” said Susan Parker Bodine, a partner with Earth & Water Law, in her own <a href="https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20230208_bodine.pdf">written testimony</a>.

“The agencies are trying to codify the authority to expand their jurisdiction with case-by-case determinations by field staff and get judicial deference for those actions,” she later added.

Rancher Garrett Hawkins of the Missouri Farm Bureau explained why he thinks the Biden rule could prove overly burdensome to American agriculture.

“On much of our most productive farmlands (i.e., areas with plenty of rain), it would be extremely difficult to avoid entirely the small wetlands, ephemeral drainages, and ditches in and around farm fields when applying crop protection products and fertilizer,” he said in <a href="https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/20230208_hawkins.pdf">written testimony</a>.

“And yet, permits could also be required for those activities, and even accidental deposition would be unlawful, even when those features are completely dry and even harder to differentiate from the rest of the fields.”
<h2>Trump’s ‘Dirty Water Rule’ vs Biden’s ‘Woke-US’</h2>
Trump’s 2020 WOTUS rule came under criticism from the Water Subcommittee’s ranking member, Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), who labeled it the “dirty water rule.”

“We recognize there is a cost to protecting our communities, our sources of drinking water, and our environment. However, we believe this cost should be borne by those seeking to pollute our waterways or to fill our wetlands for their own personal gain, rather than transferring that cost to average Americans or to downstream states,” she said.

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), a rancher in his own right, challenged Hawkins on how the Missouri rancher would regulate waters on his own property.

“We in Missouri are very comfortable with the regulatory authority in our Department of Natural Resources and the example of cooperative federalism that we see under the Clean Water Act,” Hawkins said, adding that the Trump-era rule’s “bright lines” brought welcome certainty.

Garamendi said that clarity on the law is needed. “Otherwise, it’s going to be back and forth forever, as the shifting winds of Congress and the presidency happen,” he said.

Derrick Van Orden, then a congressional candidate for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, speaks to guests during a rally hosted by former President Donald Trump in Waukesha, Wis., on Aug. 5, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), a retired Navy SEAL, dubbed the Biden WOTUS rule “Woke-US.” He argued that it would actually make it harder for farmers in his Upper Midwestern district to continue their own environmental stewardship involving small ponds on their land.

“If Woke-US goes into effect, these farmers will stop these practices, as their ponds will become navigable waterways and subject to draconian federal regulations. And what this means is that all of these ag byproducts will enter the watersheds and wind up in the Mississippi River. That is the exact opposite intended consequence of this foolish regulation,” he said.

“When’s the last time you stepped in manure on a small family farm?” he asked Owen, the California law professor.

“This isn’t the last time, but even though I grew up in the suburbs, we were the one house in the Boston suburb that got regular deliveries of horse manure for my mother’s garden,” Owen answered.

<em>A previous version of this article mistakenly asserted the current status of the Trump administration's WOTUS definition. The Epoch Times regrets the error.</em>

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/house-takes-on-bidens-waters-of-the-united-states-rule_5044773.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Science &amp; Tech

trump

Videos

Politics

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

biden

Nathan Worcester covers national politics for The Epoch Times and has also focused on energy and the environment. Nathan has written about everything from fusion energy and ESG to Biden's classified documents and international conservative politics. He lives and works in Chicago. Nathan can be reached at nathan.worcester@epochtimes.us

Nathan Worcester

WOTUS

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.