Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of a key House committee and lead sponsor of a bill to expand the Clean Water Act's (CWA) scope, is vowing to streamline the water act permitting process and preserve CWA regulatory exemptions, amid industry claims that he lacks sufficient support to move the bill out of his panel. One industry source says ongoing industry criticisms of the bill are sapping members' support for the bill, while a key Senate Democratic staffer is acknowledging the bill is unlikely to reach the president's desk this year. Ken Kopocis, deputy Democratic staff member for the Senate environment committee, told an Oct. 25 law conference in Washington, DC, that the bill is unlikely to pass Congress this year, "If for no other reason, this is a very difficult issue to get through Congress and I think the president would veto it." Proponents of H.R. 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007, argue the bill would restore the water act's regulatory reach to its scope prior to the Supreme Court's 2001 ruling in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which they argue narrowed the scope of the law. Oberstar's bill seeks to make all waters subject to regulation by EPA and the Corps rather than just the "navigable" waters that are currently covered. The bill would replace the term "navigable" with the phrase "waters of the United States."
展开▼
