The Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee held a budgetary hearing this week in which EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy testified on behalf of the EPA FY15 proposed Budget. Several Republican Senators raised great concerns about the EPA’s proposed rule regarding Waters of the U.S, stating that they felt this proposed rule would significantly expanded the waters that would be subject to EPA’s jurisdiction.
Administrator McCarthy continued to echo EPA’s stance that this proposed rule simply provides clarification on what waters would be jurisdictional. There were only two Democratic Senators at the hearing, and neither one raised this proposed rule as an issue. Meanwhile, all Republican Senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee have sent a letter to EPA and the Corps protesting the regulatory over-reach of the rule and the adverse impacts on farmers, ranchers, and small businesses.