Among its highlights is a rider to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s from enforcing its controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, referred in the bill as “executive overreach.”
As said Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said, “This bill makes responsible recommendations on where to invest taxpayer funds for stewardship of federal lands. It improves environmental policy by emphasizing infrastructure improvements over new EPA regulations.”
In April, the Senate voted against an amendment, introduced by Sen. Jon Hoeven, R-N.D., that would have blocked the rule. Read more here.
WOTUS was issued under the Clean Water Act and intended to clarify the authority of EPA and the Corp of Engineers over various waters. The jurisdiction, based on several U.S. Supreme Court decisions, include “navigable” waters and waters with a significant hydrologic connect to navigable waters.
The rule was broadened to include upstream waters and intermittent and ephemeral streams – the kind farmers use for drainage and irrigation. Click here for more.
Original article June 17, Pork Network