<170718_TU_Ltr_Reject Policy Riders in House IER Approps bill.pdf
(2017-07-18) Conservation Funding: Interior and Related – Trout Unlimited Letter to U.S. House appropriators, opposing harmful riders to Interior, Environment and Related Agencies spending bill
July 18, 2017
Re: Trout Unlimited strongly opposes the Section 431 rider to weaken the Clean Water Act, and urges you to support the McCollum amendment (McCollum #1) to strip this provision, and all harmful riders, from the bill.
Dear House Appropriations Committee members:
Trout Unlimited strongly urges the Committee to reject the anti-clean water amendment (Section 431) and other damaging policy riders from the FY18 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill adopted by the Subcommittee.
Section 431(a) of the bill reads as follows (italics added):
AUTHORIZATION.—The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Army may withdraw the Waters of the United States rule without regard to any provision of statute or regulation that establishes a requirement for such withdrawal.
Simply put, the Section 431(a) rider disrespects the rule of law. Sec. 431(a) would allow the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to disregard the rule of law as it carries out its plan to rescind and repeal the Clean Water Rule (Waters of the U.S. rule). The provision would authorize EPA and the Army Corps to repeal the Clean Water Rule by cutting corners –without following fundamental legal processes aimed at giving sportsmen and women a voice on this key element of the Clean Water Act, disregarding science-based input, and the economic benefits from protecting waterways.
American sportsmen and women support the Clean Water Rule. Without the Clean Water Rule, the streams and wetlands that sustain the sport fishing economy worth $50 Billion to the U.S. economy, supply public drinking water for one in three Americans, and protect our fishing and hunting way of life will remain at risk. There should be no place in the Interior, Environment and Related agencies Appropriations Bill for such an ill-conceived, disenfranchising rider.
We greatly appreciate Representative McCollum’s leadership in supporting clean water with her amendment to strike harmful riders, including Section 431, from the bill. We urge you to vote for Representative McCollum’s amendment during today’s markup.
Thank you for considering our views on this matter.
Steve Moyer, smoyer@tu.org 703-284-9406
Kate Miller, kmiller@tu.org 703-284-9428