Trey Gowdy: “The unique circumstances of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rulemaking warrant an expedited repeal of the rule.…”

“The unique circumstances of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rulemaking warrant an expedited repeal of the rule. In November 2016, the Committee released a staff report titled ``Politicization of the Waters of the United States Rulemaking,'' detailing the findings of more than a year-long investigation in to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rulemaking. The investigation revealed widespread procedural violations, excessive unilateral and politically driven decision-making, and persistent failures of consultation and consideration of public comments. The EPA's extraordinary efforts to push through this procedurally deficient and roundly disliked rulemaking created an insurmountable illegitimacy of the rulemaking that warrants immediate repeal. To facilitate this necessary action, Congress is exercising its authority to create exemptions to existing law in H.R. 3219, the Make America Secure Appropriations Act, 2018. Section 108 of the bill provides a single-use exemption from regulatory procedure and legal requirements to allow EPA and the Secretary of the Army to immediately withdraw the WOTUS rule. The immediate repeal of WOTUS will allow EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to start with a clean slate as they conduct a joint rulemaking, between equal partners, with full consideration of the comments and concerns raised by the American public.…”