Hawley and Other Missouri Republicans in Congress Object to New WOTUS Rule

FILE – IN this Jan 15, 2019 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee committee member Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questions Attorney General nominee William Barr during a Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Hawley is facing conservative backlash after raising concerns with President Donald Trump’s nominee to a high-profile appeals court. The Judicial Crisis Network on Monday announced plans to spend $500,000 on Missouri ads to sway Hawley to support D.C.-area U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Neomi Rao. Hawley on Monday told KFTK 97.1 FM Newstalk’s Marc Cox that Rao doesn’t have a strong record on abortion. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

(MISSOURINET) – Republican members of Missouri’s congressional delegation are speaking out against the new rule governing what constitutes a “navigable waterway” in the United States. The rule takes effect in March, and it expands federal authority of waterways that can be navigated by boat or barge to include tributaries, adjacent wetlands, and some lakes, ponds, and streams. Missouri U-S Senator Josh Hawley calls it “an outrageous power grab:”

The EPA defends the new rule, saying in a press release that it will move the country closer to “protecting public health” and achieving the goals of the Clean Water Act passed more than 50 years ago.