Press Releases

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Collins (R-GA), and Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC) today commended President Trump and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin for bringing an end to the Biden era “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule.  Administrator Zeldin announced that EPA will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review the definition of WOTUS and provide new guidance – ultimately following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Sackett case, which appropriately recognized that there are limits to federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act.

Chairman Graves: “I strongly welcome this action by the President and Administrator Zeldin to provide desperately needed clarity on WOTUS.  This is great news for farmers, small businesses, manufacturers, home builders, infrastructure builders, local communities, and property owners across the country.  The Biden Administration, with its costly and burdensome WOTUS rule, created confusion, uncertainty, and hardship for everyone by pushing the federal government’s regulatory powers far beyond the intent of the Clean Water Act.  Even worse, they ignored the Supreme Court’s Sackett ruling that should have reigned in their illegal rulemaking.  I’m glad that we and the American people now have allies in the Trump Administration who support a predictable, reasonable, workable, and stable regulatory environment that will protect water quality, protect the rights of states and individuals, and allow America to build infrastructure projects.”

Chairwoman McClain: “I am glad to see the Trump administration will conduct a review of this overreaching regulation, and I appreciate the years of hard work to reverse this decision by Chairman Sam Graves of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and others. Biden found a way to give the federal government even more control over the American people. If there was a drop of water, the Biden administration was determined to regulate it. Revising this rule will also help grow our economy and lower costs. This is a common-sense win for farmers, ranchers, landowners, your average mom-and-pop small business owner, and American families.”

Chairman Collins: “The definition of a ‘water of the United States’ has been weaponized by federal agencies to infringe on the property rights of farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and landowners for far too long. The announcement by President Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin will end the abuse of power by Washington bureaucrats and restore freedom to landowners across the country. The era of overregulation is over, and we are lucky to have a president that prioritizes freedom, growth, and prosperity instead of government control.”

Chairman Rouzer: "I commend President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for putting an end to the overreaching WOTUS rule.  It has been a significant burden to our farmers, businesses, and communities.  With the Trump Administration’s leadership, we are ensuring the federal government will no longer overstep its boundaries in regulating our waters and will instead adhere to what the law actually says. By aligning with the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Sackett case, we are reining in federal overreach, eliminating the subjectivity of bureaucrats used to create law that was never intended by Congress, and protecting states’ rights.  This is a win for common sense, the people, and the Constitution."

Note: In the 118^th Congress, Rouzer was Chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and a leading opponent in the House of the overreaching Biden WOTUS rule.