Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa this week is partnering with Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota on two pieces of legislation. One bill would give the U.S. Small Business Administration’s watch-dog agency more authority to force federal officials to assess and acknowledge the financial impact proposed regulations have on small businesses. “Right now […]
A “waters of the United States” rule that is clear, feasible and maintains existing exemptions for everyday farming activities: That’s what agricultural stakeholders sought during a teleconference with federal officials, as agencies seek to develop a new WOTUS rule. “Many agricultural interests that took part in the call expressed concern about the lack of consistency […]
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is in Nebraska to discuss with state officials on the decision to rescind the 2015 “Waters of the United States” rule. This ruling allowed the federal government to regulate and oversee all water found on property period. Pruitt says this never should have happened. Pruitt says, “It is all […]
[Pruitt] I’ve been on a 25-state tour over the last two to three months with respect to the Waters of the United States rule. We’re withdrawing that rule. We’re getting that right. As we’ve gone through that process, I was in Utah with Gov. [Gary] Herbert talking about issues there, the second driest state in […]
[Pruitt] The question, at first instance, is the Clean Water Act gives the EPA authority to regulate waters of the U.S., so we have to determine what Congress, the case law, the legislative history, what did they mean when they put that term in the Clean Water Act? We can’t just simply make it so […]
Pruitt is in Mississippi meeting with the governor along with other state agencies to talk about the new regulations which are providing more breathing room for the Mississippi economy. The primary purpose of Pruitt’s visit is to engage with people who have an interest in the definition of “Waters of the United States” WOTUS as […]
State Attorney’s General are weighing in on the Waters of the U.S. Rule, as EPA and the Corp of Engineers begins the process of rewriting the language. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was one of the original AG’s that helped block WOTUS and so he’s hopeful that will result […]
A big part of upholding the rule of law in any area is staying on top of actions from unelected agency leaders who have a lot of power to wreak havoc with regulations. The Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule from the Obama Administration is a prime example of a regulation that badly over-reached. After […]
The GOP letter was sent to EPA chief Scott Pruitt on the last day to submit public comment on the Trump administration’s proposal to scale back the rule, which President Trump ordered under one of his first executive orders as commander in chief. “The courts have been clear that a federal agency may not exceed […]
“Within the last year, I have had the honor of working with the Trump administration to repeal more than $36 billion dollars’ worth of Obama-era regulations,” said Smith. “One of our biggest successes was rescinding the Waters of the United States regulation, which sought to federally regulate every drop of water on Missouri farmers’ land.” […]