By Glenn Minnis
(The Center Square) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is sounding the alarm about resurfaced Obama-era policy that seeks to reinstitute stricter regulations on bodies of water in the state.
In calling on the Biden administration to withdraw its final Waters of the U.S. rule, Burgum warned that the mandate would lead to more confusion, added bureaucracy and higher consumer prices.
“After North Dakota led the fight against the Obama administration’s misguided WOTUS rule, it’s disappointing that the Biden administration is doubling down on this overreaching policy,” Burgum said in a statement. “The EPA’s reworked version of WOTUS has the same problems as its predecessor, violating landowner rights and creating confusion for farmers, ranchers and industry by adding red tape and erroneously classifying almost every stream, pond and wetland as a federally managed water. The result will be higher costs for food, fuel and other consumer goods with no substantial benefit to the environment.”
Barring a legal challenge, the final rule is slated to take effect 60 days after publication. Earlier this month, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moved to publish the final rule in the Federal Register, including repealing the definition of WOTUS that the Trump administration adopted in 2020 as part of its Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
“North Dakota has some of the cleanest water in the nation and this proposed rule threatens our state’s legitimate authority to protect our own waters from pollution,” Burgum added. “It’s a prime example of federal overreach that ought to be withdrawn, or at least delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision in the Sackett v. EPA case related to Clean Water Act jurisdiction.”
Across the country, North Dakota is just one of a growing number of states fighting back against the policy that extends federal water quality protections to rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands.
Glenn Minnis is a contributor at The Center Square.
Originally published by The Center Square. Republished with permission.
To read more about the Waters of the United States, click here.
To read more about EPA overreach, click here.
