Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Vice Chairman of the House Science Committee, today questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy about the science used to justify the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) final rule. WOTUS seeks to expand the EPA’s regulatory control over waterways in our country by expanding the definition of “navigable water” under the Clean Water Act to include potentially any flowing or standing water on public or private land.
“Coming from a rural area, I’m a little sensitive about the Waters of the United States rule,” Lucas said.
He stressed to McCarthy that the scientific data used to justify these burdensome regulations should be made available to the public for review.
Lucas also pointed out to McCarthy that comments from the Chairman of the EPA’s own Science Advisory Board and the President’s science advisor have reflected that the data used to justify regulations should be made publically available.
Lucas concluded his remarks saying, “there’s a fine line between doing things for people and doing things to people… there’s a perception across the country – whether it’s in ag or construction –you’re not doing things for people. You’re inevitably doing things to people.”
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015. The bill prevents the EPA from implementing the WOTUS rule. It requires the agency to reconsider the thousands of public comments from concerned Americans and rewrite the rule to reflect the public’s perspective.
In February, Lucas introduced the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015, legislation to ensure the science guiding EPA’s regulatory policy is objective and available for public review. The bipartisan bill passed the House of Representatives in March.