By TONI ELLINGTON
On Tuesday, September 9, 2014, the U.S. House of
Representatives voted to block proposed changes to the Clean Water Act which
would redefine the definition of waters which are subject to regulation by the
federal government. H.R. 5078, or the
Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014, passed
the House by a vote of 262 to 152.
The proposed new definition was previously reported
in this blog when it was announced on April 21, 2014, by the Army Corps of
Engineers and the EPA as a change to the definition of the “waters of the
United States.” The definition would
include seasonal and rain-dependent streams and wetlands near rivers and
streams, and would bring those areas under Army Corps of Engineers’
jurisdiction.
According to the Army Corps of Engineers’ and EPA’s
Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and the
accompanying press release, the definition was being changed to clarify what is
a “water of the United States” following Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and
2006 which made the issue confusing and complex. However, critics of the proposed definition change
claimed that it was a power grab by the EPA, and that the definition would
extend the application of the Clean Water Act to ponds, ditches, culverts, and
other wet areas.
The public comment period for the EPA’s and Army
Corps of Engineers’ proposed rule ends on October 20, 2014.
For more information, contact Toni Ellington at
(504) 599-8500.
No comments:
Post a Comment