Senate Committee to Vote This Week on Clean Water Legislation

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) will mark up on Wednesday, June 10, S. 1140, the Federal Water Quality Protection Act. The Senate bill, introduced by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), is a similar version of the recently passed House bill, H.R. 1732. The bill halts the implementation of the rule and provides guidelines to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to draft a new rule with the states, local stakeholders and small businesses. The bill has 37 Republican cosponsors and three Democratic cosponsors and is expected to pass out of committee. 

The Waters of the US Rule, now referred to as the Clean Water Rule, was proposed in April 2014 and the final rule was recently released last month. Numerous lawsuits are expected to be filed on the Clean Water rule from cities, states and industry stakeholders on the EPA’s definition of navigable waters. NRMCA is concerned about how expansion of federal jurisdiction over marginal waters would place an undue burden on ready mixed concrete and aggregate operations, and new construction starts. NRMCA is continuing to evaluate what other unintended consequences the rule might place on the ready mixed concrete industry.