House votes to overturn WOTUS rule

The House voted Jan. 13 to overturn the U.S. EPA’s Clean Water Rule, which would protect certain waterways under federal regulation.

The House passed the resolution 253-166, the Hill reported. Twelve Democrats supported the resolution, and one Republican voted against it. The U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the rule on Oct. 9. The resolution passed in the Senate in November.

It is now headed to the desk of President Obama, who is expected to veto the bill to protect the rule.

Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, is an attempt by the Obama Administration to better define what constitute the “waters of the United States.” The Clean Water Act, implemented in 1972 is the current rule, but has met resistance in the U.S. Supreme Court over the last 30 years. WOTUS adds significant federal control of land and water resources, and complicates and expands what is considered a body of water.

Adversaries claim the rule is an example of government overreach. Many argue WOTUS was created without properly involving all stakeholders. 

For Chava McKeel, GCSAA’s director of government affairs, Waters of the United States caught her eye right away as being a major concern for members of the association.

“When the rule came out, I thought it was a game-changer. I think it ranks really, really high of anything that’s happened in the 17 years I’ve worked (for GCSAA),” McKeel said in the November issue of Golfdom. “It’s something superintendents need to pay attention to.”
 

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