GOP Senate Could Mean Trouble For EPA Clean Water Agenda

The EPA proposed an update to the Clean Water Act this year, but that effort may be in trouble when the GOP takes control of the Senate.

Months before the election, Congressional Republicans began making noise in opposition to the proposal, fueled by the aggravation of the agriculture lobby. Opponents have framed the proposal as a costly and burdensome example of government overreach.

The EPA argues that the rule is necessary because Supreme Court decisions make it unclear what the agency may regulate under the Clean Water Act. Proposed in April and open for public input until November 14 due to an extension of the comment period, the rule would clarify the definition of "waters of the U.S." in the Clean Water Act.

With the Democrats in charge of the Senate, Republican opposition put public pressure on the EPA and forced it to defend its proposal in the media, but the GOP lacked the clear power to restrain the agency's rule-making ability.

All that changed on election night when the GOP won enough seats to control the Senate in the 114th Congress, beginning next year. The GOP now has a wider set of options for complicating or blocking the EPA's effort.

One new weapon in the GOP's arsenal is the Senate committee that oversees EPA action. Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-OK, is likely to lead the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee next year, according to the Washington Post.

Inhofe has spoken up against the EPA's water agenda at various points in the last couple years. For instance, he introduced the "Preserve the Waters of the U.S. Act" in 2012 to "prevent the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers from using their overreaching 'guidance' to change legal responsibilities under the Clean Water Act (CWA)," according to a press release from the GOP side of the committee.

A prominent denier of global warming, Inhofe's sentiments toward the EPA are anything but fond. Inhofe "once compared the Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo," according to the Post.

"Inhofe, a former congressman and mayor of Tulsa, came to Washington to do battle with federal bureaucrats, particularly those at the EPA who he said threatened the energy industry in his home state," the report said.

That's a big change from the current lead of the committee. The current chair, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, is a committed environmentalist. Inhofe, on the other hand, "describes himself as a lonely crusader against an environmental-liberal conspiracy," the Post reported.

It remains to be seen how far the Republicans will go to block the Clean Water Act proposal in the next Congress, but previous action suggests a commitment to blocking the rule.

"On 9 September, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5078, which would block the rule. The vote was 262 to 152, with 35 democrats joining the Republican majority," the American Association for the Advancement of Science magazine reported.

Still, the EPA may have options for pushing ahead with parts of or its entire water agenda. As Slate points out, the Republicans will still "lack the supermajority needed to prevent Democratic filibustering of big items." And with the Democrats in charge of the White House, President Obama holds veto power over legislation.

State-level water issues were also affected by the election. California voters passed a $7.5 billion water bond, Rhode Island voters passed a $52 billion bond measure, and Maine voters approved a $10 million bond measure.

For more on policy and politics, check out Water Online's Regulations & Legislation Solution Center.