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Simpson Protects Idaho Water from EPA
Idaho Congressman Upholds Western Priorities as House Committee marks up Interior Appropriations Bill
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson has protected Idaho priorities in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for FY16. The bill, which sets out the budget for the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was marked up by the full House Appropriations Committee. Simpson, who sits on the subcommittee, defended a number of important provisions in the bill that protect western interests, including language preventing the EPA's recently-finalized rule expanding federal jurisdiction over the Clean Water Act.
During the markup, Simpson successfully fought off an amendment intended to strike this language, claiming that the only certainty that the EPA has provided with its new rule is the certainty that all water will eventually be subject to Clean Water Act regulation.
"There is no way that you cannot eventually take this rule to say that it doesn't impact groundwater, because groundwater is connected to other waters," Simpson said during the markup. "The EPA has gone way overboard beyond what Congress ever intended with the Clean Water Act."
