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EPA Seeks to Change Water Rule, Changes Course
on Pesticide Protection Rollback
Three years after the passage of the Clean Water
Rule, the Trump administration has moved to effectively reverse its purpose.
The Obama administration had extended federal
jurisdiction to include smaller bodies of water by changing the act's definition of "Waters of the United
States" (WOTUS). On Friday, however, the Environmental Protection Agency submitted a proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget, requesting another revision of WOTUS, this time to change its purpose to "promote economic growth" and limit "federal oversight" of land.
This decision comes after an executive order from President Trump directed the EPA to create a new rule that aligned with a more narrow definition.
If the EPA succeeds, the federal government could only regulate waterways that are "relatively permanent." This differs from the 2015
Clean Water Act's definition which includes "waterways with a 'significant nexus' to navigable
ones." Read more at
The Hill
.
The Northeast-Midwest Institute has previously published commentary on the Clean Water Rule. This information can be found here.
In another EPA action, last Thursday the agency
reversed its rollback
of an Obama-era pesticide regulation that mandated that a person must be 18 years old in order to administer pesticides and that pesticide training for farm workers must be improved.
The EPA's reversal comes after three state attorneys general filed a joint lawsuit against the EPA, alleging that the agency's delay of implementation was arbitrary and capricious. The lawsuit further claimed that the "EPA's unjustified delay harms the nation's hundreds of thousands of farmworkers and their families."
For more information please contact Eric Heath via e-mail or call him at (202) 464 - 4019.
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Senate FY19 Appropriations Bill Permits Increased Spending
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY19 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill at its
full committee markup
this past Thursday. Its total allocation is $35.85 billion.
The following table lists some of the bill's funding appropriation components.
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Purpose
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Proposed Funding Amount
(in billions)
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Department of the Interior
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$13.109
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EPA
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$8.058
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U.S. Forest Service
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$6.29
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Wildland Firefighting
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$4.345
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National Parks Service
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$3.21
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Fish and Wildlife Service
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$1.57
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Bureau of Land Management
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$1.34
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U.S. Geological Survey
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$1.148
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Of the EPA's $8 billion, $300 million of funding is for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), an amount ten times the amount requested in the administration's budget. The Appropriation's allocation means that federal funds have the potential to be consistent with the GLRI's Action Plan which "calls for land use, recreation and economic activities that are managed to ensure that nearshore aquatic, wetland and upland habitats will sustain the health and function of natural communities."
The Northeast-Midwest Institute has created a user-friendly Appropriations Bill tracking Web page
here
.
For more information, you can also contact Matthew McKenna via e-mail or call him at (202) 464 - 4012.
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Senate Agriculture Committee Sends the Farm Bill to the Floor, House
At its markup hearing last Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry spent two and a half hours discussing
less than half of the 180 amendments
to the Senate's version of the Farm Bill. As anticipated, the committee spent time debating the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), farm loans, limits on farm subsidy payments, and land conservation.
After a 20-1 vote, the bill was "ordered to be reported favorably to the Senate as amended" by Chairman Pat Roberts. The day before voting against the motion, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA),
explained
that while he is in favor of a safety net for farmers, he believes that there must be "real and enforceable payment limits for farm subsidies," and directly spoke against the House Farm Bill for its lack of an income cap for such subsidies. That same day he also noted, "I know Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow have worked hard to get us to this point. However, there are some improvements needed to get a Farm Bill that we can justify to the American taxpayers."
At Wednesday's markup, Sen. Grassley spent most of his time
describing
the multiple components of the bill that he supported, but he took issue with the lack of (1) "common sense reforms [he]... offered on farm program eligibility" and (2) a Congressional Budget Office score on the Senate Farm Bill. In response to the passage of the bill, the Iowa Senator
expressed
his concern that, should the bill not include limits to farm safety net payments, "real, working farmers" would have access to fewer resources.
Following the vote, Chairman Roberts ended the meeting by stating, "this is not the best possible bill, but, rather, this is the best bill possible. I am proud and stand by the work conducted here at the committee. I thank . . . all members in attendance conducting legislative work through regular order and utilizing the committee process in a bipartisan and transparent manner."
The House Farm Bill, on the other hand, is more partisan. After members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus voted against the first version of the bill, Republicans are relying on the group's votes in order to pass the latest version of the bill. Their votes are especially necessary because out of the 198 Representatives who voted for the first version of the bill, none of them were Democrats. Therefore, with the House's second vote tentatively just one week away, the future of the bill depends on the outcome of an ongoing internal debate among Republicans over different pieces of immigration legislation.
For more information please contact Eric Heath via e-mail or call him at (202) 464 - 4019.
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This Week in Washington
The following are hearings and markups of interest to the region.
Wednesday
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing in regards to EPA nominations at 10:00 a.m. in at 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building. William Charles McIntosh has been nominated for Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs, and Peter C. Wright has been nominated for Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management.
The House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a markup at 10:15 a.m. at 1324 Longworth House Office Building. The Committee will be considering the Removing Barriers to Energy Independence Act, the Streamlining Permitting Efficiency in Energy Development Act, and the Ending Duplicative Permitting Act.
Thursday
The House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a legislative hearing on Federal Land Management Bills at 10:00 a.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
The House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a legislative hearing on Mineral Leasing Bills at 2:00 p.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Friday
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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