Daren Bakst
Congress last year utilized the Congressional Review Act to get rid of many federal agency rules, most of which were prime examples of agency overreach.
Congress now needs to use the “power of the purse” in the upcoming omnibus appropriations bill to continue its efforts to rein in agencies and reassert its lawmaking power.
One time-sensitive and critical issue that should be front and center: the so-called “WOTUS” rule.
Even before the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule—better known as the “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule—the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had been trying to improperly expand their power under the Clean Water Act. By developing an overbroad definition of “waters of the United States,” the agencies have been seeking to regulate almost every water imaginable and trample on property rights.
The WOTUS rule takes this federal overreach to a new level. For example, it would regulate certain man-made ditches and even regulate what most people would consider dry land.
Congress should expressly prohibit funding for implementation and enforcement of the WOTUS rule...more
1 comment:
Many property owners, small and large, will be pleasantly surprised if Congress ever steps up and protects them.
Last I checked only about 7 had signed on to Rep.Mac Thornberry's H.R.1261 written years ago to stop this unauthorized overreach.
Then I read that over 50 of them had recently signed onto a bill to start a internet sales tax!
Another EPA/ACE public comment period has started on WOTUS that ends in May.
At the same time EPA has suspended enforsement of the 2015 WOTUS Rule for 2 years.
But what does that mean to property owners? Now?
Can they work their land as before? Can they grade/repair a road across in or along a wash or exericise their Rights and uses without retribution from EPA/ACE later??
Most Congressmen want land owners to apply for the permits in lieu of what was your Rights and leave them alone.
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