As the Farm Bill headed toward a Thursday vote in the House, an amendment to repeal the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule was included in a group of thirty-one amendments in order Wednesday night. The amendment, by Representative Jim Banks (R-Indiana), would fully repeal the controversial rule finalized during the Obama Administration and halt efforts on a rewrite currently underway by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The WOTUS rule is currently suspended until 2020 while the EPA seeks public input on a redrafted version. RCRC, along with many others, opposed the rule as a jurisdictional overreach and inappropriate expansion of federal authority over bodies of water not previously controlled by the federal government. The expansion of federal authority over these waters could result in delays in important local public works projects such as maintenance of flood conveyances that could ultimately endanger public safety.