New legislation introduced in the House of Representatives in late April would prevent EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from advancing a controversial guidance to alter the scope of the federal Clean Water Act, and the bill may soon be put before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for consideration.
H.R. 4965 resembles several other bills previously introduced in the House and Senate that seek to block EPA and the Army Corps from implementing a proposed guidance (titled “Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act”) published in the Federal Register last year. Critics say the guidance would expand the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act to isolated and purely intrastate water bodies. The new legislation would also bar the use of any “substantially similar guidance” as the basis for any future alterations to the scope of the Act. Under current plans, EPA and the Army Corps are expected to finalize their guidance as early as next month.
H.R. 4965 is notable in that it was introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) with the support of the panel’s Ranking Democrat (Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia). This could facilitate relatively quick movement of the bill through the committee process, potentially putting the measure on the House floor before EPA finalizes its guidance in June.
But even if the bill wins House passage, it would still have a long way to go before becoming law. Most congressional Democrats oppose the bill and say that Republican fears about a broad expansion of CWA authority are unfounded. As a result, H.R. 4965 would almost certainly stall in the Senate.
Concurrently, House Republicans are taking steps to temporarily block the guidance through language in the respective FY13 EPA and Army Corps funding bills, but that tactic was ultimately unsuccessful when attempted by GOP leaders last year.