Several Republican members during a Wednesday hearing questioned EPA administrator Michael Regan about his decision to issue a rule governing which U.S. waterways fall under federal jurisdiction before the Supreme Court issues an opinion on the matter in Sackett v. EPA, expected before the end of this term.
“We recognize that the Sackett case will have some impact on the rule,” Regan said. “But what we didn’t want to do was wait until after June, wait for the Supreme Court, and then start a two-year process, which would have left farmers and ranchers in limbo.”
Related story: What Bodies of Water are Considered WOTUS?
Regan said the January WOTUS rule — which codifies a pre-2015 definition of waters of the U.S. — carefully embeds two post-2015 Supreme Court rulings, as well as eight exemptions requested by the ag sector.
Senators on WOTUS
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said the decision by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to issue their rule while the issue is still before the Supreme Court amounts to “just gambling” that the court won’t overturn it.
Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) called the agency’s new WOTUS rule “an expansion of executive power.”
EPA “Flush with Cash”
Republicans also grilled Regan on the Biden administration’s roughly $12 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2024, saying the agency is already flush with cash.
Regan said the increased budget request is meant to shore up the EPA’s workforce, which is near the lows of the Reagan administration, at a time when the agency is tasked with implementing the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Related story: WOTUS Rule Frozen in Two States, But Unimpaired in 48
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said the agency should be able to handle its responsibilities with the nearly $41 billion it received from the new climate law, calling the request “mind-boggling in this time of fiscal restraint.”
