WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt released the following statements after the committee’s oversight hearing titled “A Review of the Technical, Scientific, and Legal Basis of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule.”
“Today’s hearing demonstrates that the WOTUS rule is not supported by technical expertise, science, or the law,” said Barrasso. “By including states and local governments, Administrator Pruitt has shown he will not repeat the mistakes made by the last administration, as he begins the important work of rewriting this fundamentally flawed rule.”
“The American people are tired of job-killing regulations that aren’t firmly grounded in science or law. We’re answering President Trump’s call for a review of the WOTUS rule, and working with governors and the American public to strike the right balance between federal, state, and local protections. I’m glad to have Chairman Barrasso and the EPW Committee as partners in the fight to restore states’ important role in the regulation of water,” said EPA Administrator Pruitt.
The hearing featured testimony from Major General John Peabody (Ret.); Dr. Michael Josselyn, the principal of Wetlands Research Associates; Mr. Misha Tseytlin, solicitor general for the State of Wisconsin; Mr. Ken Kopocis, associate professor at American University Washington College of Law; and Mr. Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation.
For more information on their testimonies and to watch video of the full hearing click here.
Background Information
On April 30, 2015, Barrasso, along with Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), led a bipartisan group of senators in introducing the Federal Water Quality Protection Act (S. 1140).
Barrasso’s bill directed the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to issue a revised WOTUS rule that protects navigable water from water pollution, while also protecting farmers, ranchers and private landowners.
On Feb. 28, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order to revise the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers’ WOTUS rule. Barrasso attended the order’s signing ceremony at the White House.
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