Statewide News — Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa says it’s unclear what interim regulations will be enforced as the Biden Administration drafts new Clean Water Act rules.
Miller-Meeks, a Republican, favors keeping Trump Administration rules which eliminated federal oversight on about half of the streams and wetlands subject to Obama era regulations.
Last week Miller-Meeks toured a farm and other facilities where she says Clean Water Act regulations have been burdensome.
The 400-million dollar hydropower project on the Red Rock Dam was completed a year ago. It could take up to three years for the EPA to develop and implement new national water use rules and lawsuits are challenging the rules implement during the final year of the Trump Administration.
Environmental groups say the Trump Administration’s rewrite of water regulations has allowed developers to build in sensitive wetland areas. Critics of large-scale agriculture say fertilizer run-off is endangering water quality and federal action is needed.
