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INHOFE WELCOMES NEW WETLANDS GUIDANCE

WASHINGTON, DC – Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, today welcomed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issuance of new wetlands guidance under the Clean Water Act. The guidance follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the joint cases of Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on “The Waters of the United States.”

“I commend the EPA and the Corps for putting forth guidance to its regions on how to implement the Rapanos/Carabel Supreme Court case in which the Court clearly ruled that federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act is limited,” Senator Inhofe said. “The guidance should provide clarity to the regulated community and allow for an efficient process to determine federal jurisdiction.

“The federal government should not be regulating local and individual land use decisions.  A proper balance can be struck between protecting our nation’s waters and protecting the ability of the nation’s towns to determine their own growth patterns.  I am hopeful that the guidance has found this balance and appropriately interpreted the Court’s will to limit federal intrusion into these decisions.  

“With the guidance finally issued, it is now time for the Agencies to focus their attention on updating their regulations to reflect the Court decision.”

Related Information

·  Last year, on Tuesday, August 1, 2006, the Subcommittee on Fish, Wildlife, and Water conducted a hearing, “Interpreting the Effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Recent Decision in the Joint Cases of Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on ‘The Waters of the United States’”  

· Senator Inhofe Op-Ed: Federal Wetlands Protection Programs are Working (The Hill, 4/24/07)