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GOP Tries to Stop EPA 'Power Grab' of 'Every Puddle'

CBN

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Congressional Republicans are pushing to block the Environmental Protection Agency from taking control of vast new sections of America's waterways.

The Obama administration added a new rule in May to revise the Clean Water Act, giving the EPA power to regulate small streams, tributaries and wetlands.

"That's the last thing we need," Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, told CBN News. "Because the EPA is allowed to have some regulatory control over navigable waters, they are trying to make that mean every little puddle all over the country."

The EPA said the rule will protect the waters from pollution and development, affecting 117 million Americans. EPA spokeswoman Monica Lee said the water rule "is grounded in science."

Last month, the House passed a bill to block the rule change, and a Senate environmental committee approved a similar bill Wednesday.

Farmers and other landowners have expressed concern that every stream, ditch, and puddle on their private land could now be subject to federal oversight.

Republicans agree, saying it is a federal overreach that will be a costly and confusing burden for millions of Americans.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has called the EPA's new rule "a raw and tyrannical power grab."

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., sponsored the Senate bill, saying it's needed because the new water rules "are sweeping and will create uncertainty in communities across America."

The White House has threatened to veto the House version of the legislation.

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