Regulations years in the making over the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) continue to be hammered out in Washington. The latest is over an effort by Congress to rescind President Joe Biden’s EPA rule that went into effect last year. Previous versions of WOTUS have been overturned and last year’s rule has been met with similar disapproval, largely from Republicans but also from some Democrats more closely tied to the agriculture industry.
The Senate and House passed a Joint Resolution over the last month that would have helped to overturn the rule. Georgia’s two senators both voted against the bill despite passage 53-43 but the House delegation was more mixed, with everything Republican voting in favor of overturning and Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-GA 2) and David Scott (D-GA 13) also joining the GOP in favor. The full House vote was 227-198.
However, Biden vetoed the bill last Thursday, largely ending legislative measures to change the rule until the next election.
“President Biden’s decision to veto H.J. Res. 27 is a desperate attempt to cling to a rule that Congress has rejected on a bipartisan basis. This administration’s WOTUS rule is a terrible overreach that greatly expands the authority of the federal government to regulate Americans’ private property and would have devastating effects on our nation’s farmers, small businesses and landowners in particular,” said Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA 12). “The federal government’s role should be to fuel growth for hardworking Americans; not to constrain our economy with burdensome regulations. The president’s choice to veto this resolution goes against the expressed will of the American people.”
The American Farm Bureau, joined by the state chapters including the Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB), are supportive of any effort to overturn the EPA regulation. The GFB’s public policy committee updated members last week, noting that President Biden would likely veto the bill but that “the resolutions of disapproval Congress passed could serve to strengthen the lawsuits several states, including Georgia, have filed to halt the implementation of the rule.”
In a joint letter to U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock last year, then-state Sen. Tyler Harper (now Agriculture Commissioner) and a number of other legislators and agriculture partners warned the impact of the WOTUS rule would be harmful to the state’s number one industry. The GFB, the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association, Georgia Forestry Association and Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association all signed on to the letter, among others.
“The proposed rule revision would place significantly onerous regulations on Georgia’s farmers, producers, and residents, result in millions of dollars in increased costs, fees, and inspections, and potentially cause irrevocable harm to our state’s number one industry,” warned the letter. “The proposed rule significantly expands the definition of “navigable waters” beyond any reasonable understanding—giving the federal government the power to regulate ditches, drainages, ephemeral streams, and other lowland on farms—none of which should be considered “navigable” bodies of water.”
Ultimately, the argument over what constitutes “waters of the United States” might end in the Supreme Court. The Court is currently considering the case Sackett v. EPA, which will determine if the U.S. Court of Appeals in the 9th circuit ruled correctly that wetlands can quality under the EPA’s purview.
