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Support New Bill to Stop EPA Overreach
Friday - June 17, 2011
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ACTION ALERT:  CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMAN TODAY!  ASK THEM TO SUPPORT HR 2018!

THIS BILL WILL HELP REIN IN THE EPA AND GET AMERICA BACK TO WORK!

The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R. 2018) has major implications for the Friends of Coal and the 63,000 West Virginia families whose livelihoods depend on mining coal.

In recent years, the Obama EPA has used the CWA permitting process to block coal mines in Appalachia, but coal mining isn’t the only industry threatened by EPA’s arrogance. Quarries, farmers, and commercial, residential, and infrastructure construction projects also receive CWA scrutiny and are potentially affected by EPA’s abuse of its authority.

HR 2018 is a bipartisan bill that would rein in the Obama EPA. It would bring an end to the agency’s destructive abuse of authority and restore the balance needed to get America working again.

West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall (D) and Florida Congressman John L. Mica (R) are the bill’s lead sponsors.

HR 2018 would:

1.    Amend the CWA to restore the long-standing balance between federal and state partners in regulating the nation’s waters;
2.    Preserve the system of cooperative federalism established under the CWA, which gives states primary responsibility for water pollution control; and
3.    Prevent EPA from second-guessing or delaying a state’s CWA permitting and water quality certification decisions if EPA has already approved a state’s program.

Bipartisan cooperation, particularly on environmental issues, is rare in Washington’s charged partisan environment.  The fact that the senior Democrat on the T&I Committee is playing a lead role on this bill shows just how bad EPA’s excesses have become.

The proposed bill provides for the following:

 

  • Provide common sense protections for states’ EPA-approved water quality standards and permitting authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
  • Restrict EPA’s ability to issue a revised or new water quality standard for a pollutant if a state has adopted – and EPA has already approved – a standard, unless the state concurs.
  • Prohibit EPA from superseding a water quality certification granted by a state under CWA Sec. 401.
  • Limit EPA’s ability to withdraw approval of a state water quality permitting program under CWA Sec. 402.
  • Limit’s EPA’s ability to object to a state’s issuance of a pollutant discharge permit.
  • Place limits on EPA’s ability to veto dredge and fill permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers and gives states more flexibility to administer these permitting programs.

The bill is expected to go to mark up tomorrow with a vote likely in July. Support HR 2018! Let your Congressional representatives know it is time to get America back to work. Let’s bring an end to the EPA’s jobs killing program.