Washington, DC — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the US Supreme Court has put the genie back in the bottle when it comes to the Clean Water Act.
Grassley says the court’s decision on the EPA’s so-called Waters of the U.S. or “WOTUS” regulations has dramatically narrowed the agency’s authority to regulate wetlands and boggy areas.
Grassley and 46 other Republican senators filed a brief with the court a year ago, arguing the proposed EPA regulations went too far and violated the rights of property owners. Grassley says state officials should be the primary regulators of land and water resources within their borders.
The governor, the state’s ag secretary and other Republicans in Iowa’s congressional delegation released written statements, praising the court’s decision. It restricts the EPA to regulating waterways and wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to lakes and rivers that can be navigated by boats.
President Biden says the ruling upends the legal framework that has protected America’s waters for decades and it defies the science that confirms wetlands play a critical role in safeguarding our nation’s water resources from pollutants.
