Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise to offer a simple amendment that will protect private water rights and prohibit the EPA's attempt to expand Clean Water Act regulation beyond what Congress has intended. This amendment prohibits the use of funds to carry out the draft EPA- USGS technical report, entitled, ``Protecting Aquatic Life from Effects of Hydrologic Alteration,'' which is agency guidance that aims to expand the scope of the Clean Water Act and Federal control over waters currently under the jurisdiction of States. A March 1, 2016, Scientific Investigations Report from the Environmental Protection Agency argues that the Clean Water Act gives the EPA the authority to regulate not just the quality of waters of the U.S. but also the quantity, or amount, of water in the Nation's river and water systems. The management of water rights and allocation quantities from all natural streams, lakes, and other collections is an authority that is enshrined in State constitutions and compacts across the West--legal protections that are explicitly designed to exclude interference from the Federal Government. Under the expanded scope of the authority, the EPA suggests in their report that the Federal Government could require an individual private water owner or a local municipality to obtain a Federal permit any time it alters the amount of water available in streams or other water systems.…”