CHEYENNE, Wyo. — U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis joined Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia on behalf of Wyoming landowners and residents in introducing a formal challenge to the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule through a Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval.
The resolution comes after the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a new rule in December 2022 repealing the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule and changing the definition of Waters of the United States that dramatically expands the authority of the federal bureaucracy.
“President Biden is using his misguided Waters of the United States rule to suffocate Wyoming’s farmers, ranchers and landowners. The administration wants to put Washington in control of everything from ponds to potholes,” Barrasso said. “Our joint resolution puts hardworking Americans first and stops this massive government overreach from the Biden administration.”
“An irrigation ditch is not navigable water and should not be under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The Biden administration’s WOTUS rule would have serious implications in my home state of Wyoming and throughout the west,” Lummis said. “Our farmers and ranchers do not need the federal government telling them what they can and cannot do on their private land. We can protect our water, one of our most valuable resources, without overbearing regulations from the federal government.”
Every member of the Senate Republican Caucus and the Senate Western Caucus joined in cosponsoring this resolution of disapproval.
The full text of the resolution can be found here.
