Sen. Grassley: I’m committed to fixing the mistakes of the last WOTUS rules

The final WOTUS roundtable wrapped up last week. Senator Chuck Grassley says he is committed to fixing the mistakes of the last WOTUS rules.

In a call yesterday with reporters, Grassley said he has told the Environmental Protection Agency they cannot allow the same rules to take effect. The EPA is waiting on the Supreme Court to hear Sackett vs. EPA in October, which will influence the next WOTUS rules, either way, the court decides.

“So I’m advising EPA that they can’t, surely can’t go along with a just exactly the way Obama wrote it eight years ago, that there have been several court decisions that said they went too far. And then another reason for biding time a little bit is because there are two Supreme Court decisions going to be argued next year, dealing with Fifth Amendment rights, that you can’t take property by government regulation, without due process, and without proper payment. So I hope this is what they’re hearing. I’m sure the farmers are going to address what I just said plus more.”

In a rare move for Washington, an overwhelming bipartisan number of lawmakers, as well as corporations, says it is time for updates on WOTUS definitions.

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