WASHINGTON – While U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined President Donald Trump in the White House for the signing of an executive order to roll back the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, his reasoning behind why the decision was positive seems to be at odds with the EPA’s information.
“This is welcome relief for homeowners, small businesses and family farms throughout the country whose ability to use their property was threatened by this EPA overreach. Arkansans don’t need bureaucrats in Washington telling them how to use their land. I applaud President Trump for taking this step to protect the private property rights of citizens, especially farmers and ranchers in Arkansas and across the country,” Boozman said.
However, according to the Waters of the United States summary information from the EPA’s website, directives for standards came from state, local and tribal levels in all areas of the United States. The document is included below.
“State, tribal, and local governments have well-defined and longstanding relationships with the Federal government in implementing (Clean Water Act) programs and these relationships are not altered by the final rule,” begins the definition of the “Waters of the United States.
“All states and forty tribes have developed water quality standards under the CWA for waters within their boundaries.”
Shortly after then-President Barack Obama saw the order go into effect, he issued a statement in support of it.
“This rule will provide the clarity and certainty businesses and industry need about which waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, and it will ensure polluters who knowingly threaten our waters can be held accountable,” Obama said in a statement. “My administration has made historic commitments to clean water, from restoring iconic watersheds like the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes to preserving more than a thousand miles of rivers and other waters for future generations. With today’s rule, we take another step towards protecting the waters that belong to all of us.”
Boozman is a staunch opponent of the WOTUS rule and has worked to overturn it. He helped introduce the Federal Water Quality Protection Act and supported a joint resolution of disapproval of the rule, according to a press release from his office.
Waters of the United States information from EPA
Read more from Politico on the WOTUS rule
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