Sen. Daines & Rep. Newhouse: Obama-Biden water rule – here's why we must stop this overreach... again

We have a vested interest in how the federal government’s regulations impact water, agriculture and natural resources across the country – especially when these regulations burden the rural communities we represent.

This isn’t just partisan rhetoric – the courts ruled that the 2015 definition was more expansive than the statute and the Constitution allow. Clean water and economic prosperity are not mutually exclusive. WOTUS provided none of the clarity and certainty it promised. Instead, it created confusion and put landowners at risk by giving federal agencies almost unlimited authority to regulate – at their discretion – any low spot where rainwater collects. This included common farm ditches, streams, small ponds, creeks and isolated wetlands found on and near farms and ranches across the nation – no matter how small or seemingly unconnected they may be to true "navigable waters."