Cynthia M. Lummis

02/02/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/03/2023 19:21

Senate Western Caucus Formally Challenges Biden WOTUS Rule Through Congressional Review Act

February 2, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), along with every member of the Senate Western Caucus, joined Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) in introducing a formal challenge to the Biden administration's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule through a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval.

The resolution comes after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a new rule in December 2022 repealing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), and changing the definition of Waters of the United States in a way that will expand federal regulatory authority.

"An irrigation ditch is not navigable water and should not be under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The Biden administration's WOTUS rule would have serious implications in my homestate of Wyoming and throughout the west," said Sen. Lummis. "Our farmers and ranchers do not need the government telling them what they can and cannot do on their private land. We can protect our water, one of our most valuable resources, without overbearing regulations from the federal government."

Every member of the Senate Western Caucus cosponsored this resolution of disapproval.

Full text of the resolution can be found here.###

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