BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, issued the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishing the “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” in the Federal Register today:
“I am glad to see progress being made on implementing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Unlike the previous Administration’s unconstitutional power grab, President Trump and Administrator Wheeler’s finalized rule falls within the confines of the law. Our state wants clean water, and we know how to get it better than a bureaucrat in Washington does. Today’s action takes us one step closer to providing sound, responsible water policy for North Dakotans.”
Background:
The Trump Administration repealed the previous Water of the United States (WOTUS) rule in September and finalized this rule in January. Publishing the rule in the Federal Register begins the 60-day clock for the rule to go into effect.
As the EPW Subcommittee Chairman with jurisdiction on water issues, Senator Cramer oversaw the crafting of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, convening a hearing last year – with testimony from North Dakota’s Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring – to highlight the problems of the Obama Administration’s WOTUS rule and to outline the principles a new rule should follow. In September, the Senator hosted EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler in North Dakota to discuss this issue at a roundtable with North Dakota stakeholders and local leaders.