House Committee Passes Bill Restricting Agency Ability to Implement Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Policy

Earlier today (June 7), the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee considered and passed a bill impacting clean water act jurisdiction (H.R. 4965, "A bill to preserve existing rights and responsibilities with respect to waters of the United States, and for other purposes"). The bill (passed on a vote of 33-18, largely along party lines in the Republican controlled Committee) would prevent the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers from rewriting their guidance clarifying which waters of the United States fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, and, by some accounts, might also prevent those agencies from enforcing a related Clean Water Act jurisdiction guidance that was put in place by the second George Bush Administration.  Passage nows clears the way for the bill's consideration before the full House.