WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order providing relief from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ‘Waters of the U.S.’ (WOTUS) rule.
“The WOTUS rule has been a thorn in the sides of rural America for too long, and I’m thrilled President Trump has taken swift action to get rid of it.
“The Obama Administration’s EPA claimed they listened to farmers when writing this rule; they did not. I’m pleased to see the Trump Administration is actually listening to rural America with this executive action."
The WOTUS rule was developed by the Obama Administration’s EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It greatly expanded the EPA’s federal jurisdiction and scope of waterbodies subject to Clean Water Act requirements.
Prior to President Trump’s executive order, the rule was stayed pending legal challenges.
Chairman Roberts held a hearing on the WOTUS rule in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and cosponsored legislation to repeal the rule in the 114th Congress. Roberts joined the President at the White House for the signing of the executive order.
Click here to watch President Trump deliver remarks and sign the executive order.
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