EPA Water Rule Paves 'Road to Regulatory Hell'
WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on pollution by broadening restrictions previously put in place by the Clean Water Act.
The administration says the new rules, which deal with streams and wetlands, will protect the drinking water of 117 million Americans.
By implementing the new regulations, the EPA hopes to clear up misunderstandings left behind from the Supreme Court's ruling on the Clean Water Act.
But the new regulations have been met with quite a bit of push-back, with Republicans calling it another "Obama power grab."
Nick Loris, who specializes in energy and the environment at the Heritage Foundation, said the move is more about attacking private property rights.
"You could see farmers, you could see homebuilders, you could see private property builders all effectively paying tens of thousands of dollars in permit requirements, in having their land taken from them by the Environmental Protection Agency," Loris warned.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, took a similar position.
"The administration's decree to unilaterally expand federal authority is a raw and tyrannical power grab that will crush jobs," he charged.
"These leaders know firsthand that the rule is being shoved down the throats of hardworking people with no input, and places landowners, small businesses, farmers, and manufacturers on the road to a regulatory and economic hell," he said.
Some farmers say it will be bad for business, warning the government will now have oversight of every puddle, stream, and lake on their land.
CBN News reached out to the EPA for a statement on how the rules will affect farmers. They referred us to a past statement that reads:
"The agencies' intent is to protect clean water without getting in the way of farming and ranching. Normal farming and ranchingincluding planting, harvesting, and moving livestockhave always been exempt from Clean Water Act regulation, and our proposal doesn't change that."
Some environmentalists say the new guidelines will be the biggest victory for clean water in a decade. But some Republicans in Congress say they will fight tooth and nail to see the regulations overturned.
"Congress is very focused on stopping the EPA's land grab," Loris said. "They've already introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill that the administration said they would veto."
