Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) released the following statement concerning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s release of the final Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule:

“Make no mistake about it: the impact of the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. ruling will be felt far and wide.  Here in Southern Illinois, our proud agricultural heritage will now be put at risk by federal bureaucrats intent on telling our farmers and family businesses how to use their land.  This unprecedented power grab over America’s waters upends the balanced, federal-state partnership that has regulated U.S. waters for over 40 years under the Clean Water Act.  I have voted to scrap this rule in the past, and I will continue to fight this shameful overreach in the future.”

Background

Earlier this month, Rep. Bost voted for the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015, which would scrap the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Waters of the United States rule and require that a replacement be drafted.  The House-passed bill would stop the EPA rule from expanding its federal regulatory power to cover most of our nation’s waters - including ditches, pipes, watersheds, and farmland ponds.