Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Indiana Senator Mike Braun jointly introduced the Define WOTUS Act, which aims to define the ?waters of the United States? (WOTUS) and create a reasonable, workable definition of the term permanent.
?Adding more federal red tape for home builders during construction or to a farmer?s day-to-day decisions on the farm is government overreach, plain and simple,? Grassley said. ?I?ve worked over the years to put a stop to water rules that would be unworkable for Iowa farmers and landowners. Iowa is leading the way in clean energy and our farmers and businesses are good stewards of the land. It?s time to make this important policy a law and provide some much-needed certainty to our constituents.?
?The Obama-Biden WOTUS rule was an egregious overreach, giving the federal government authority to regulate water on 97 percent of the land in Iowa?and I fought tirelessly to scrap the absurd rule and replace it with one that provides more certainty to Iowa?s hardworking families, farmers, and businesses,? Ernst said. ?As the Biden Administration seeks to undo this work, it?s more important than ever to ensure a new, reasonable WOTUS definition is made permanent?which is exactly what this bill would do.?
?Regulations for what falls under ?Waters of the U.S.? have ping-ponged back and forth for years,? Braun said. ?Farmers and families need a reasonable, practical definition for WOTUS, and that?s why Congress should do its job and define the law.?
Grassley and Ernst recently penned a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the Biden administration?s decision to roll back the Navigable Waters Protection rule. Grassley also gave a speech on the Senate floor on the devastating consequences that will occur if the rule is rolled back.
Grassley and Ernst worked together on a Senate resolution earlier this year about the need for the U.S. Senate to stand with the nation?s farmers, ranchers, and other stakeholders by supporting the Trump administration?s Navigable Waters Protection rule, which replaced Obama?s WOTUS rule.
