Waters of US Rule Halted Temporarily in 13 States

Washington, D.C. - August 29, 2015 (The Stuff Gazette) -- U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the following statement regarding North Dakota District Court Judge Ralph Erickson’s decision to halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s damaging ‘Waters of the U.S.’ (WOTUS) rule from implementation in 13 states:

“Like many Americans, I have been against the EPA’s ridiculous Waters of the U.S. regulation since day one,” said Senator Perdue. “It is outrageous President Obama and his EPA regulators are trying to regulate runoff water and rain puddles. I’m glad a federal judge agrees that the Obama Administration is out of line, and I will keep doing everything I can on a federal level to protect Georgia farmers and our state’s agriculture community from egregious executive overreach.”

The WOTUS rule, which expands federal jurisdiction over land and waterways, has received considerable criticism from a variety of industries – including Georgia’s agriculture community. While Georgia was not listed in Judge Erickson’s ruling, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens joined with eight other state Attorneys General in filing a lawsuit challenging overturn the WOTUS ruling. Their complaint was ultimately rejected by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Senator Perdue participated in a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on the WOTUS rule in March and co-sponsored legislation in April to stop implementation of this unreasonable rule. This legislation was approved by the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee and is now pending full consideration on the U.S. Senate floor.

“The Obama EPA’s WOTUS rule is one of the largest federal land grabs in recent memory,” said Thune. “It will drive up compliance costs for farmers and ranchers and expose homeowners and property owners across the country to massive new fines. The recent ruling by a federal district court in North Dakota shows that the Obama EPA is not only defying common sense, but is also defying the original intent of the Clean Water Act. The EPA should immediately suspend the enforcement of this regulation across the country. The ruling is yet another reason we need to enact a permanent stop to EPA’s overreach,” said Senator John Thune - (R - SD).