"WOTUS is now on borrowed time"

Today, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, an outspoken critic of the EPA’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to block WOTUS nationwide.

"WOTUS is now on borrowed time," said Sasse. "This ruling is a victory for common-sense and the rule of law. The EPA isn’t a super-legislature and this ruling brings us one step closer to having the American people—not unelected bureaucrats—setting important agriculture and conservation policy. Like most Nebraskans, I’m grateful for the court’s decision and committed to seeing this fight through.”

Background:

Today, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a nationwide stay on the implementation of WOTUS, noting that the rule has created a “whirlwind of confusion.”

Sasse, an advocate of an all-of-the-above strategy to fight for Nebraska's farmers and ranchers, is an original cosponsor of two legislative efforts to stop the EPA.

Senator Sasse is an original co-sponsor of a resolution disapproving the WOTUS rule. Companion legislation in the House of Representatives has been authored by Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith.

Sasse is also a cosponsor of The Federal Water Quality Protection Act, S. 1140, authored by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY). This legislation would nullify WOTUS and send EPA back to the drawing board to rewrite the rule.

In March, Nebraska's Senior Senator Deb Fischer held a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing in Lincoln on WOTUS' impact to the agriculture community, homebuilders, and state and local governments.

In May, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers released the final Waters of the United States rule under the Clean Water Act. The rule would dramatically expand federal authority and with it EPA’s power to levy fines and require additional permits and reporting.

In August, a federal judge temporarily blocked the rule in 13 states, including Nebraska.