Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
John Boozman, Ranking Republican
The jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment consists generally of matters relating to water resources development, conservation and management, water pollution control and water infrastructure, and hazardous waste cleanup. A number of agencies administer programs that address one or more of these issues; two agencies in particular, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), oversee the larger programs of concern to the Subcommittee.
Link to Legislation Referred to the Subcommittee
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Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment consists generally of matters relating to water resources development, conservation and management, water pollution control and water infrastructure, and hazardous waste cleanup. A number of agencies administer programs that address one or more of these issues; two agencies in particular, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), oversee the larger programs of concern to the Subcommittee.
Through its Civil Works Program, the Corps constructs projects for the purposes of navigation, flood control, beach erosion control and shoreline protection, hydroelectric power, recreation, water supply, environmental protection, restoration and enhancement, and fish and wildlife mitigation. Barring the smallest projects, which the Corps can undertake without full Congressional authorization, these projects traditionally are contained in two-year water resources development acts.
EPA has the primary responsibility for carrying out the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as the Clean Water Act. This act provides for a major Federal/state program to protect, restore, and maintain the quality of the nation’s waters. Although EPA is responsible for carrying out the Act, significant parts of the program may be administered by the states if approved by EPA.
Issues and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee include:
- Water resources programs of the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)
- Clean Water Act
- Superfund (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act)
- Water infrastructure and watershed protection programs
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Ocean dumping
- Oil pollution of navigable waters of the United States
- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
- Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
- Small watershed program of the Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Deepwater ports
- Invasive/aquatic nuisance species
- Coastal pollution and coastal zone management
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Natural resource damages provisions in Superfund and the Oil Pollution Act
- Groundwater protection
- Water resources policy
Members
Republican Members of the
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
U.S. House of Representatives
110th Congress
John Boozman, AR, Ranking Member
John J. Duncan, Jr., TN
Wayne T. Gilchrest, MD
Vernon J. Ehlers, MI
Frank A. LoBiondo, NJ
Gary G. Miller, CA
Robin Hayes, NC
Henry E. Brown, Jr., SC
Todd Russell Platts, PA
Bill Shuster, PA
Connie Mack, FL
John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr., NY
Charles W. Boustany, Jr., LA
Jean Schmidt, OH
Candice S. Miller, MI
Thelma D. Drake, VA
John L. Mica, FL (ex officio)
Ranking Member Biography
U.S. Rep. John Boozman is the Ranking Republican on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. Boozman leads the Subcommittee Republicans’ efforts to address the nation’s aging water infrastructure and responsibly protect the quality of the nation’s waters
Boozman has been a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since being elected to Congress in 2001. In recognition of his dedication and knowledge of the issues, Full Committee Ranking Member Mica selected Boozman to the top Republican slot on the Subcommittee when that position became vacant early in 2008.
Ranking Member Boozman is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, previously serving as that panel’s Economic Opportunity Subcommittee Chairman and Ranking Member. He is an Assistant Whip for House Republicans, and serves on the House Policy Committee.
Boozman played football for the University of Arkansas and graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977. He co-founded the Boozman-Hof Regional Eye Clinic, which has grown into a major provider of eye care for Arkansans. He also established the low vision program at the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock and worked as a volunteer optometrist at an area clinic that provides medical services to low-income families.
John is a life-long resident of Arkansas, and he and his wife Cathy have three daughters.
John Boozman, Ranking Republican, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment