Senate 'Waters' Bill Outlines Parameters For Revamped EPA Regulation

摘要

A bipartisan group of senators opposed to EPA's pending final Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule has introduced a bill directing the agency to issue a revised proposal with a specific checklist of which waters can and cannot be covered by a new rule - seeking to provide more specificity than House legislation aimed at blocking the rule. The senators at an April 30 press conference touted the bill's "moderate" language, saying they anticipate receiving enough Democratic support, once the bill is read through, to possibly override a potential presidential veto. "It is moderate enough that I think it can be advanced," said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND). "Is it going to be the final product? No one can say that. I've been around long enough to know that everyone is going to want to have a little bit of input. But the way this has been written and advanced, with compromises put in while we were writing it, people are going to be pleasantly surprised and be able to step forward."