U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led 26 of his Republican committee colleagues in questioning the Biden administration about its refusal to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court’s definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
In a nine-page Oct. 31 letter sent to the agency heads of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the committee members said the “administration is not adhering” to the High Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA.
Instead, they wrote, the administration is “attempting to maintain broad federal overreach, slow-walking implementation, failing to provide adequate direction to regulated communities, and delaying projects which require certainty under a CWA permitting regime.”
Rep. Graves and his colleagues cited concerns from a broad array of stakeholders, including those raised during a September hearing held by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment regarding the administration’s lack of clarity, transparency, and direction on WOTUS since the Sackett ruling was issued.
“In Sackett, the Supreme Court provided needed clarity on the definition of a WOTUS, reinforcing property owners’ rights, protecting the separation of powers by limiting the authority that Congress explicitly delegated in statute, and adhering to the congressional intent of the CWA,” wrote the lawmakers. “Sackett rightly upheld the cooperative federalism framework of the CWA, as well as the authority of states to regulate non-federal waters within their borders as they see fit.”
However, despite the Supreme Court’s decision and the clarity that it provided, the Biden administration continues to openly disregard the ruling, according to their letter, which in addition to Rep. Graves included signatures from U.S. Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA), Mike Bost (R-IL), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Pete Stauber (R-MN), and Rudy Yakym (R-IN).
The members asked the heads of the EPA and the Corps to answer several questions by Nov. 14, including about the steps they are taking to create a permitting regime that is faithful to Sackett, and the administration’s plans to provide more guidance and certainty to the regulated community. They also requested information related to delayed agency decisions that are preventing projects from moving forward.
“The committee is deeply concerned that your agencies have failed to comply with Sackett and provide regulated communities with the permitting certainty they rely on,” wrote Rep. Graves and his colleagues. “Despite repeated attempts to seek clarification about this administration’s implementation of WOTUS rules, your agencies continue to thwart transparency, failing to adequately respond to questions posed by [committee] members.”