https://themissouritimes.com/schmitt-opposes-revision-of-federal-water-regulation-rule/

Schmitt opposes revision of federal water regulation rule

By Cameron Gerber, The Missouri Times

June 16, 2021

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is “opposing efforts to revise the federal Navigable Waters Protection Rule enacted under the Trump administration.”

“The 2020 edict altered the 2015 Waters of the United States rule, lessening the federal government’s authority to regulate pollution in wetlands and certain streams. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan and the Army Corps of Engineers announced their intention to revise the rule last week, saying the move was prompted by claims that the current version was causing harm to local governments and organizations.”

Schmitt sent a letter to Regan and Jaime Pinkham, acting assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, opposing the move. Schmitt argued the groups were exceeding their statutory authority through their definition of “waters of the United States” by attempting to regulate private property. . .”

Garrett Hawkins, President of the Missouri Farm Bureau said:

“We are extremely disappointed that we are going to have this conversation yet again about the boundaries between what is federal jurisdiction and what is left to the states. . .”

By overturning (the Trump administration) changes shows, “the Biden administration’s disregard for not only those whose jobs depend on working lands, but the rule of law under which these regulations have been unsuccessfully challenged.”

“Hawkins said 99 percent of Missouri land would have fallen under federal regulation through the Obama administration’s version of the rule”.

The Trump administration rule was “based on input from hundreds of thousands of stakeholders. The American Farm Bureau backed the Trump administration’s version of the rule when it was enacted, praising the leeway for landowners to preserve their own land. . .”