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Action Needed Now: House Vote as Early as Tomorrow, Rule Expected to be Finalized Soon

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are close to finalizing their proposed rule redefining "waters of the U.S." and making many more areas subject to federal control. More federal control would require nearly all construction sites to obtain often unnecessary Clean Water Act permits. The vast majority of new areas covered by these rules are currently protected by state and local governments so any increase to overall water quality are questionable.

By a vote of 36-22, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation that would send the administration’s proposed rule redefining federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act back to the drawing board.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) joint rulemaking redefining which waters are jurisdictional under federal Clean Water Act standards has left the agency and moved to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). This is the last stage in the federal rulemaking process where OIRA runs the final rule through interagency review one last time before allowing the rule to be published as final.

��ѻ��ý and its industry partners from the Waters Advocacy Coalition met with the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to discuss the federal water quality standards (WQS) regulation proposed by EPA and its interaction with the proposed change in the definition of “Waters of the United States.”

After a concerted advocacy effort by ��ѻ��ý and its members, a bipartisan group of 85 members of the House of Representatives this week sent an ��ѻ��ý-supported letter urging appropriators to utilize Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) revenues at the levels set by the Water Resources Reform & Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA). WRRDA authorizes Congress to spend up to $1.25 billion—69 percent of HMTF revenues—on harbor maintenance activities in fiscal year (FY) 2016. However, the House Appropriations Committee must agree to actually spend that level of funding in FY 2016 for the promise in WRRDA to be realized.

This week, ��ѻ��ý sent a letter urging all members of the House of Representatives to sign an ��ѻ��ý-supported letter authored by Representatives Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) urging appropriators to utilize Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) revenues at the levels set by the Water Resources Reform & Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA). WRRDA authorizes Congress to spend up to $1.25 billion—69 percent of HMTF revenues—on harbor maintenance activities in fiscal year (FY) 2016. However, the House Appropriations Committee must agree to actually spend that level of funding in FY 2016 for the promise in WRRDA to be realized. As such, ��ѻ��ý urges you to take action and urge your representative to sign onto the Boustany/Hahn letter to the House Appropriations Committee asking appropriators to spend HMTF revenues at the FY 2016 WRRDA levels.

If you’re interested in any aspect of environmental compliance or sustainability on a construction jobsite, this is the conference for you. Learn from industry experts and your peers at ��ѻ��ý’s 2015 Contractors Environmental Conference on September 2-3 in Arlington, Virginia. It’s only six weeks away, so click here to reserve your spot today.

Although signed on May 27, the Clean Water Rule: Definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) was not officially published in the Federal Register until Monday, June 29. The publication of the rule determined its effective date of August 28, 2015, and opened the door for legal challenges. Immediately following publication, at least 18 state attorneys jointly filed three lawsuits to block the rule. Tuesday, June 30, nine additional states jointly challenged the rule in federal court.

Check out the sessions in the compliance and sustainability tracks! Plan to join your peers at ��ѻ��ý’s 2015 Contractors Environmental Conference (CEC) on September 2-3, in Arlington, Virginia to explore ways to turn environmental responsibilities into successes for you and your firm.