Hoeven highlights paths to permanently rescind WOTUS rule

The forthcoming new Congress and administration means the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule can be permanently rescinded, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) said.

The Obama administration’s attempt to expand federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act through WOTUS could be rescinded in three ways: legislation, administrative rulemaking or a pending legal challenge.

“WOTUS has posed a real problem for job creators across our nation, including our farmers and ranchers, and we are now in a strong position to repeal the rule permanently,” said Hoeven, who previously worked to prevent the EPA from implementing the rule as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“We have worked successfully in the Senate to prevent the WOTUS rule from being implemented year to year, but now we have several paths we can pursue to eliminate it completely,” he said.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is currently considering the legality of the WOTUS rule. If the court strikes down the rule, the incoming administration could effectively rescind it by not appealing the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hoeven previously joined a bicameral group of lawmakers who filed an amicus brief in the case to address specific concerns about WOTUS and agency rulemaking “encroaching on traditional state authorities over land use and water quantity — as opposed to water quality.”

“Congress, not federal agencies, has the sole and exclusive right to make law,” the amicus brief continues. “The executive branch, for its part, must ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed.’”