Murkowski: Revised WOTUS Rule Will Provide Clarity and Ease Regulatory Burden
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army announced their final Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.
“I have worked for years to try to prevent federal agencies from massively expanding the definition of the ‘Waters of the United States,’ and I appreciate this administration’s efforts to return to a more reasonable regulation that does not block private construction or harm economic growth. Many states, including my home state of Alaska, already have robust standards that work in tandem with federal requirements to protect water quality. While I am reviewing the details of this final rule, I welcome it and expect it to be a significant improvement over the 2015 Obama-era rule,” Murkowski said.
As chairman of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, Murkowski included language in her funding bills for FY 2016 and FY 2017 blocking implementation of the previous administration’s WOTUS rule. In May 2018, Murkowski asked previous EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt about the agency’s plans to reexamine the WOTUS rule, urging it be updated with a more common-sense proposal. In December 2018, Murkowski attended and spoke at an event at EPA headquarters announcing the proposed WOTUS rule.
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