Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) voted for a repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.  The crippling measure, imposed by the Obama Administration under the guise of strengthening the health of our waterways, would expand federal regulatory authority to almost any body of water in America – including ditches, culverts, and farmland ponds.

“I will not stand idly by while federal bureaucrats try to tell our farmers and family businesses how to use their land,” said Rep. Bost.  “I support clean water; but I don’t support imposing crushing D.C. regulations that will put Southern Illinois’ proud agricultural heritage at risk and impact millions of hardworking rural Americans.  This unpresented power grab into our waters upends the balanced, federal-state partnership that has regulated U.S. waters for more than 40 years under the Clean Water Act.”

The WOTUS rule significantly expands the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA), undermining the role of the states as partners and co-regulators of the nation’s waters.