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WASHINGTON – Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., today voted in favor of legislation that would require the Obama administration to withdraw its flawed “Waters of the United States” rule, which would negatively impact North Carolina farmers and landowners.

“Federal agencies frequently place burdensome regulations on the American public, and the ‘Waters of the United States’ rule is no exception,” said Foxx. “This common sense legislation prevents an out-of-touch administration from threatening the livelihood of North Carolina’s farmers and saddling local governments with exorbitant compliance costs.”

In 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a rule that would significantly broaden the federal government’s power to regulate waters and adjacent lands under the Clean Water Act. The rule would have given the federal government jurisdiction over puddles, roadside ditches, irrigation ditches and storm and wastewater systems.

H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act, would require the agencies to start over and develop a new rule in consultation with state and local governments and other stakeholders. In developing the new rule, the agencies would be required to preserve the rights and responsibilities of the states to protect water quality and to develop land and water resources as well as protect the rights of private property owners over natural and manmade water features.

The House passed H.R. 1732 by a vote of 261-155.

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U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx represents North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and is the elected Republican Conference Secretary. Dr. Foxx is the chair of the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and serves as Vice Chair of the House Rules Committee.