North Dakota’s congressional delegation released statements after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of the Army announced a proposed rule to re-establish the pre-2015 definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The rule would repeal the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule.

“The Obama era Waters of the United States rule would have been a disaster for North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers,” said Congressman Kelly Armstrong. “Now, the Biden administration is trying to revive this failed one-size-fits-all policy that will destroy their livelihoods and decimate our rural communities. I will continue to advocate for policies that work with states, not against them, to achieve environmental progress.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer said, “It’s a shame the Trump Administration’s rule was repealed at all. Americans deserve better than regulatory ping pong. I look forward to hosting EPA and the Corps of Engineers next week in Bismarck to give North Dakotans the opportunity to put our priorities in front of the Biden Administration as the process moves forward.”

Sen. John Hoeven said, “The EPA’s proposal undermines the certainty we worked to provide with the NWPR (Department of Army’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule) and is part of President Biden’s efforts to impose burdensome and costly mandates under a new WOTUS definition. The Obama-era WOTUS rule was wrong for our nation, and our farmers, ranchers and energy producers, to name a few of the impacted industries, cannot afford a similar overreach from the Biden administration.”