Iowa Senator Joni Ernst continues her fight to keep the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule repealed.
At a recent Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, Ernst pressed President Biden?s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Michael Regan, on his view of the Trump Administration?s Navigable Waters Protection Rule that replaced WOTUS. Ernst also spoke on the issue at a telephone town hall event that she co-hosted with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.
?What we don?t want to go back to is this heavy-handed overregulation by the federal government,? Ernst said. ?What we?re trying to do is encourage the current administration to continue with the President Trump-era rules for navigable waters. In my experience with WOTUS, this is the one issue where all across Iowa everyone agreed it was a horrible overburdensome regulation from the Obama era.?
Secretary Naig highlighted the widespread support from Iowa?s farmers and agriculture community for the Trump Administration?s Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
?It?s clear that the government does have a role to play in certain navigable waters, but the way the Obama-era rule was written, that rule reached way up into our property in Iowa,? Naig said. ?It had 97 percent of our land impacted and that is just too much. From a conservation standpoint, WOTUS can actually get in the way of doing the positive conservation work ? soil conservation, soil erosion prevention and water quality practices ? because the federal government is in the way driving up the cost and slowing things down.?
It does appear the Navigable Waters Protection Rule is safe for now as the Senate recently voted 51-49 to uphold the rule. EPA nominee Regan has said he wants to look at the options and any lingering concerns over the rule.
