Senate GOP Raises Broad Legal Attacks On EPA's CWA Jurisdiction Rule

摘要

Senate Republicans are raising broad legal attacks on EPA's final Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule that echo and build on criticisms outlined in a slew of lawsuits filed over the regulation, including claims that it unlawfully expands the scope of the CWA and violates provisions of the Constitution including the Commerce Clause. In a July 14 letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, the 11 GOP members of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee (EPW) ask for a reply by Aug. 13 to a host of questions about the legal basis for the rule crafted jointly with the Army Corps of Engineers. "This final rule tramples the Constitution, Supreme Court precedent, and the language of the statute itself," said EPW Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) in a statement. The letter is the latest push-back on the rule, which EPA and the Corps released in May and published June 29 in the Federal Register. More than half the 50 U.S. states and a slew of industry groups have filed suits claiming that the rule violates the Commerce Clause, the 10th Amendment and the Due Process Clause in the Constitution, exceeds CWA authority, and violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.