New Waters Rule Expands the Administration’s Regulatory Reach

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Ross Eisenberg released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) finalized the “Waters of the United States” regulation.

“From ditches, to ponds, to creeks, this regulation will expand the Administration’s regulatory reach even further into the operations of manufacturers, farmers and small businesses,” commented Eisenberg. “Under the guise of providing ‘clarity,’ the EPA and the Corps have expanded the federal government’s reach into manufacturers’ on-site activities. As of today, if you have a stream on your property that only flows when it rains, you have a ‘Water of the United States.’ If you have a pond that happens to be near another covered water, you have a ‘Water of the United States.’ If you have certain types of ditches, you have ‘Waters of the United States’ on your property.”

Eisenberg continued, “This all adds up to increased regulatory uncertainty, permitting costs, delays and even litigation, not to mention a giant new set of hurdles standing in the way of construction. Protecting our nation’s waters is a priority for manufacturers, but we need a balanced regulatory approach that provides a fair and transparent process. Today, we got the opposite. The growing $2 trillion a year regulatory burden, including this new rule and the proposed rules on ozone and greenhouse gases, is hampering manufacturers’ global competitiveness. Manufacturers support congressional efforts to send this flawed regulation back to the EPA and the Corps to be rewritten.”

For more information on the impact of environmental regulations on manufacturers, visit NAM’s website.