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Rounds Applauds EPW Passage of Bill to Roll Back ‘WOTUS’

WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today applauded the committee’s passage of bipartisan legislation to curb the effects of the administration’s ‘Waters of the U.S.’ (WOTUS) rule. The Federal Water Quality Protection Act, of which Rounds is an original cosponsor, would prevent the rule from taking effect and task the agencies with completely redrafting the rule using specific direction from Congress. 

“Freeing Americans from burdensome regulations such as WOTUS has been a priority of mine since taking office,” said Rounds. “The final rule goes far beyond what Congress ever intended to be a navigable waterway under the Clean Water Act and could lead to dramatic new regulatory costs for landowners across the nation. Our bill would require EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to go back to the drawing board and work with the ag community and state and local governments when determining which water features should be under federal jurisdiction and which should be left under state or local jurisdiction.”