Would also address gaps in science used to define jurisdictional waters under the Clean Water Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 1, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) today introduced S. 1178, the Defending Rivers from Overreaching Policies (DROP) Act, which would ensure a timely and impartial scientific analysis of the “waters of the U.S.” jurisdiction under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Act. U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) is also a sponsor.
The bill directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the EPA to halt the proposed rule to define the term “waters of the U.S.” and directs a process to address gaps in the flawed science that was used to define waters that come under the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction.
While that act protects navigable waters, the extent of the EPA’s and the USACE’s jurisdiction has been unclear, even in the wake of several Supreme Court decisions. In April 2014, the two agencies proposed a federal rule to define the extent of that jurisdiction. While the rule was to be based on peer-reviewed science, the process by which that science was incorporated into the rule was flawed, including the agencies’ closing of the public comment period before the scientific review process was completed. The science behind the rule also did not accurately take into account the landscapes and ephemeral waterways of the arid West.
The EPA estimates that implementing this rule will cost at least $160 million.
Because the science underpinning the proposed rule was incomplete, not representative and finalized after the fact, the DROP Act will send the EPA and the USACE back to the drawing board to revise their rule after conducting a supplemental scientific analysis. Only after the new panel and advisory commission established by the bill have submitted reports, and their recommendations have been subjected to a public comment period, may the EPA and USACE begin to draft a new rule.
“The EPA’s science advisory board essentially said that some streams should be in and some should be out. But then the EPA arbitrarily decided that all streams should all be in,” said Flake. “This bill sends these agencies back to the drawing board to listen to their own scientific advice.”
“The EPA’s flawed water rule could give the government powerful authority to dictate how Arizona farmers and ranchers use limited water on their lands,” said McCain.“Our bill would send EPA to the penalty box while its proposed rule undergoes peer-reviewed scientific analysis, which the agency failed to do in the first place. With so many jobs and businesses on the line, we cannot allow EPA to devise a rule without taking into account its impact on private lands, particularly in the arid West.”
Text of the bill can be found here.
