On a nearly party-line vote, the Senate defeated a proposal by North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven to prevent EPA from carrying out its Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The regulation, which defines the upstream reach of the clean water law, has been tied up in court almost from the day it was issued. A U.S. appeals court has issued a nationwide stay of the regulation until the court case is resolved. Senators rejected Hoeven’s amendment on a 56-42 roll call with 60 votes required for passage.
All Republicans except Susan Collins of Maine voted for the amendment and all but four Democrats – Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Claire McCaskill of Missouri – voted against the amendment to bar EPA from spending any money on WOTUS.
Hoeven said WOTUS “is the number one regulatory threat and a real problem” for farmers and ranchers. The League of Conservation Voters said the amendment was an attempt by “big polluters and their allies in Congress” on WOTUS, “which restores important safeguards for the small streams that feed into the drinking water supply of one-in-three Americans.”