06.27.17

Hoeven: EPA and Army Corps Issue Rule to Roll Back Waters of the U.S. Regulation

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have issued a proposed rule to roll back the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation. The proposed rule restores the regulations that were in place prior to the final WOTUS rule, which was issued in 2015. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven wrote the language and worked to defund the rule in 2016 and 2017, helping to prevent its implementation.

“We can ensure good environmental stewardship for our nation’s waterways without overriding the role of states and undermining our economy,” Hoeven said. “Today’s action rolls back the overreach of the previous administration and restores regulatory certainty for farmers, ranchers and small businesses across the country.”

This is the first of two steps established by the executive order signed by the president in February to rescind or revise the Obama-era regulation, which impacted small businesses from farmers and ranchers to the construction industry and energy sector.

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