06.17.22

Hoeven to EPA Administrator: Respect Private Property Rights, Provide Regulatory Certainty

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee, this week pressed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to ensure that any Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule protects private property rights and provides regulatory certainty for agriculture, energy and other industries. Hoeven joined a roundtable to push back on the Biden administration’s efforts to repeal the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) and advance an expanded WOTUS definition.

“The Biden administration’s effort to potentially expand the reach of federal water regulations is creating uncertainty for key industries, including agriculture, energy and construction. This regulatory uncertainty only adds to the burdens that families and businesses are facing every day in the midst of record inflation and supply chain challenges,” said Hoeven.

“Instead of unworkable, one-size-fits-all federal rules, the EPA should work with Congress to provide regulatory certainty and support a commonsense, states-led approach to regulation, and that’s why we made it clear to Administrator Regan that EPA should not be repealing the NWPR and that any new definition of WOTUS must respect private property rights.”

This comes as part of Hoeven’s efforts to prevent the administration from reimposing overly burdensome and costly mandates under a new WOTUS definition. The senator has also:

  • Filed an amicus brief with the U.S.  Supreme Court urging support for the preservation of state authority to regulate local waters and lands. Hoeven joined Senator Shelley Moore Capito to file the amicus brief in the case ofSackett v. EPA, which focuses on the scope of the Clean Water Act.
  • Joined Senator John Thune and the entire Republican Conference in urging the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to suspend pending rulemaking on WOTUS until the U.S. Supreme Court completes its consideration of Sackett v. EPA.

-###-