ST. PAUL – State Representative Jason Rarick (R-Pine City) and eleven other Greater Minnesota lawmakers recently penned a letter to Minnesota's attorney general asking her to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court over its expanded rulemaking authority under the Waters of the United States Rule and the Clean Water Act.
"The worst aspect of this rule is that it removes power from state and local leaders and expands the EPA's oversight," Rarick said. "It will add more unnecessary regulations and cause headaches for rural landowners, farmers, small business owners and local leaders."
To date, more than half of the states in the nation have filed a lawsuit against the EPA, citing that their new rule, set to go into effect August 28, goes beyond the scope of their constitutional powers and will greatly expand federal authority over state waters.
As stated in the letter co-authored by Rep. Rarick, the rule redefines virtually all waters in the country, expanding the scope of federal authority to include seasonal streams, wetlands, ponds and ditches.
Rarick believes this far reaching broadening of federal authority will create significant economic risk and uncertainty for agriculture and other businesses in our state. Furthermore, Minnesota already has laws regulating and protecting these bodies of water, and the federal government usurping that jurisdiction from elected state leaders and local officials will in effect take away the flexibility to manage our waters as we best see fit, in addition to increasing the burdensome and complicated regulations on Minnesota's citizens.
Neighboring states including Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota are included on the list of states bringing this issue to a federal court.
"We all value clean water and want to preserve our natural resources," Rarick said. "Unfortunately, the federal government thinks it can manage our waters better than the State of Minnesota can, so I'm urging the attorney general to challenge this rule in federal court."