Recently, the Supreme Court announced it will consider Sackett v. EPA, a case that will decide the scope of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The question was whether landowners have a right to challenge a Clean Water Act of the Environmental Protect Agency (EPA).
In response to this, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member David Rouzer (R-NC) called for the President Joe Biden administration to halt the WOYUS rulemaking while the Supreme Court considers the case.
A joint statement said, “We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to hear this case involving the scope of ‘waters of the United States’ and the opportunity it presents to provide certainty to the communities and stakeholders who have to live and work under this rule. Given this significant development, the Biden administration should immediately cease its efforts to issue a new WOTUS definition rule that will greatly broaden the federal government’s jurisdiction over privately owned land and add layers of red tape for farmers, builders, small businesses, local governments, and many Americans.”
Graves and Rouzer also recently wrote to the heads of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to request an extension of at least 90 days to the current public comment period for the administration’s rulemaking.
