Redefinition of "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act
would give EPA jurisdiction over as little as a backyard ditch.
WASHINGTON — While the country is immersed in Obamacare headlines and
a congressional tussle over delays and mandates, the Obama
administration is stealthily moving toward unprecedented control over
private property under a massive expansion of the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act authority.
The proposed rule, obtained by the House Science, Space, and
Technology Committee in advance of EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s
testimony at a Thursday oversight hearing, widely broadens the
definition of waterways over which the federal government has
jurisdiction to as little as a water ditch in a backyard.
The Clean Water Act redefinition of “waters of the United States”
would include all ponds, lakes, wetlands and natural or manmade streams
that have any effect on downstream navigable waters — whether on public
lands or private property.
And, committee Republicans note, the administration is trying to move
forward with the rule at a breakneck pace, relying on the findings of a
scientific report that hadn’t undergone peer review at the time the
rule was submitted to the White House for approval.
“The EPA’s draft water rule is a massive power grab of private
property across the U.S. This could be the largest expansion of EPA
regulatory authority ever,” Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said after
seeing the proposal. “If the draft rule is approved, it would allow the
EPA to regulate virtually every body of water in the United States,
including private and public lakes, ponds and streams.”
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Wednesday, November 13, 2013
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