The Land We Love

Statement

More than most Americans, Nebraskans know the worth of water. Water sustains our lives and livelihoods: our families rely on clean water; our ag producers depend on it to raise the crops and livestock that feed a hungry world.

Clean water doesn't just sustain our physical health; it also sustains our economic health. Agriculture is our state's number-one economic engine. That engine runs on water.

But for too long, faraway bureaucrats in Washington have believed, and behaved, as if they know better than Nebraskans when it comes to keeping water clean. In May 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers issued a final rule revising the definition of "waters of the United States" or WOTUS for all Clean Water Act programs.

Washington's harmful rule greatly expands the scope of federally protected waters, far beyond the original intent of Congress. This heavy-handed regulation would affect all Nebraskans, our families, communities, and small businesses. One of the more cumbersome provisions redefines "navigable waterways" to include run-off streams and ditches that are dry most of the year.

Nebraskans know this definition would be laughable if it didn't also pose serious economic harm to so many Nebraskan families. If your property has a low spot that fills up after a heavy rain, you could be subject to severe restrictions on the use of your own land as well as expensive fines.

We all want clean air and clean water, but the WOTUS rule is gross federal overreach. It is completely unprecedented.

I am confident that its days are numbered.

In October 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a stay blocking the implementation of WOTUS nationwide. And with a new administration about to take office, Congress has an opportunity to roll back this harmful rule.

With Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, I introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate to make this intention crystal clear. Our resolution expresses strong disapproval with the Obama administration's WOTUS rule and states that the rule must be withdrawn and vacated. By it, we put Washington regulators on notice.

As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I have backed measures to require the EPA to respect citizens' constitutional rights. For years, I have worked to force the agency to operate within, not outside, the law. I am eager to work with new leadership at the EPA to bring the agency back to its core mission.

Americans want an EPA that serves as a faithful custodian of our environment, not a regulatory bully that tells us how to use our own land or the water on it.

For Nebraskans, true environmental stewardship means a close relationship with the land. We understand it nurtures not only our bodies, but also our souls. This comes from our daily encounter with those vast pastures and open skies. It comes from the wonder of a thunderstorm on the prairie and the silence after a snowfall. The bureaucrat in the Washington office building doesn't have this relationship. We do.

Moving forward in 2017, I look forward to a new era at the EPA, one in which Nebraskans are trusted to look out for the land they love, and their economic livelihood isn't threatened from afar.

Thank you for taking part in our democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.

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