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Senators back navigable waters rule

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven, both R-ND, issued their support Thursday for the Environmental Protection Agency’s final proposal, called the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, to replace the Waters of the U.S. rule.

The proposal follows the administration’s repeal of the 2015 WOTUS rule last year, which removed the patchwork of regulations in place due to litigation against the regulation.

“Today’s announcement is excellent news,” Cramer said in a prepared statement. “President Trump’s Administration values sound water policy and, more importantly, staying within the confines of the law. The 2015 Rule was egregious, and it’s good to see it being replaced with a new rule that is legal and will work for our farmers, businesses and local governments. I’m grateful for the role North Dakotans played in leading on this issue, and I look forward to ensuring this rule is properly implemented.”

“The Obama-era WOTUS rule was duplicative of state and local efforts, violated private property rights and would’ve imposed significant costs on a wide range of industries, like agriculture, energy production and construction,” Hoeven said in a prepared statement. “That’s why we worked to prevent the 2015 rule’s implementation and supported the administration’s efforts to repeal it. We appreciate their continued efforts to provide certainty under the new NWPR rule, which seeks to cover only traditional navigable waters and encourage collaboration with states, tribes and localities, rather than override their authority. We will continue working to ensure the new rule achieves these important goals.”

According to the EPA, the NWPR maintains federal authority to protect the quality of navigable waters and the core tributaries that flow into them. At the same time, the rule makes clear those waters which are not covered by federal authority and will continue to be protected under state, tribal and local regulations, including:

– Features that only contain water in direct response to rainfall.

– Groundwater.

– Many ditches, including most roadside and farm ditches.

– Farm and stock watering ponds.

– Waste treatment systems.

– Prior converted cropland.

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