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The Senate has approved a resolution to overturn a Biden administration rule that expands federal protections for the nation’s waterways.
President Joe Biden has pledged to veto legislation blocking the “waters of the United States” rule that would restore protection to hundreds of thousands of rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands and other waterways.
The Senate passed the bill Wednesday under the Congressional Review Act. This allows Congress to overturn recent executive branch regulations with a simple majority vote. The Senate voted in favor of her 53 to 43, giving the bill its final approval.
Four Democratic senators, Katherine Cortez Mast and Jackie Rosen of Nevada, Jon Tester of Montana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and independent Senator Kirsten Sinema of Arizona, join the Republican Party. joined and voted in favor of the resolution.
The vote came after the Biden administration last year issued a rule that broadly defines the types of waterways in the United States subject to federal water protection under the Clean Water Act of 1972. It also abolished the Trump-era rules that sought to dismantle the protection. The White House said the revised rule builds on definitions that were in effect before 2015, when the Obama administration sought to expand federal protections.
The decision follows another recent Republican vote to block the Biden administration’s policy of allowing retirement account managers to invest based on environmental, social, and governance factors. Mr. Biden used his first veto in office last week to veto the bill.
The Biden administration and environmental groups argue that efforts to loosen federal water protections will seriously harm America’s supply of safe drinking water.
Republican officials, along with agricultural groups, oil and gas producers, and property developers, have argued that regulations to protect waterways are a burden to business and agricultural interests.
Manchin said in a statement Wednesday that the administration’s rule was “another example of dangerous federal overreach” and that the change would place an unnecessary burden on small businesses, manufacturers, farmers and communities. .
The Biden administration argued that withdrawing the rule would make federal regulation unclear for businesses and farmers, and that increased uncertainty would threaten economic growth in agriculture and local economies.
In a statement this month, the White House said, “Farmers will wonder if areas artificially irrigated remain exempt. Construction workers will be exempt from water-filled gravel pits.” You’ll wonder if it’s still there,” he said.
“The final rule provides substantial and valuable benefits in critical flood protection, improved water quality, and valuable recreational activities (such as fishing, swimming, and boating) that feed the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of American households. yearly,” the White House said.
But federal judges this month suspended waterway protections for the Biden administration in Texas and Idaho, marking a victory for Republican challengers.
A Supreme Court ruling set this year could also challenge the EPA’s ability to protect wetlands and other waterways. In this case, the Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency is challenging the government’s decision that wetlands on private land in Idaho are protected under the Clean Water Act.
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