Group asks President Biden to revise overreaching, unnecessary rule
On March 29, the Senate passed an NPC-endorsed joint resolution of disapproval to overturn the Biden Administration’s “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule by a vote of 53-43. The bipartisan action follows a 227-198 vote by the House on March 9. It now goes to the President, who has declared his intention to veto the joint resolution.
NPC issued a statement in response to the news:
“The National Potato Council and our growers applaud this clear, bipartisan rebuke of the administration’s overreaching WOTUS rule. We urged Congress to push back against this unnecessarily broad rule that is certain to negatively impact the vast majority of farmers. We now ask President Biden to revise this proposed rule in order to both protect our water resources and the growers who serve as stewards of our environment.”
On January 18, 2023, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published the Biden Administration’s long-expected WOTUS rule, which reverts law to the Obama Administration’s era of federal jurisdiction to regulate navigable waters under the Clean Water Act, including wetlands, ephemeral streams, and ditches. During the NPC 2023 Washington Summit, attendees advocated for the joint resolution of disapproval of the WOTUS rule due to its unnecessarily broad and negative impact on farmers and the entire agriculture industry.
Neither the House nor Senate currently have the votes needed (two-thirds of their respective chambers) to override a veto. Stakeholders are also awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA, which will likely shape EPA’s rulemaking, implementation, and authority under the Clean Water Act.
This update was included in NPC’s weekly Eye on D.C. newsletter. Sign up as a subscriber here.
