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EXCLUSIVE: After scoring a victory in her effort to undo the Biden-era expansion of clean water regulations that led to outrage from farmers and homesteaders, Senate DOGE Chairwoman Joni Ernst put forward permanent policy exclusions Thursday to prevent future Democratic administrations from “overreach.”
“If you try to navigate a wastewater treatment pool, you’ll be up a creek without a paddle,” Ernst, R-Iowa, said, mocking what she and many heartland landowners see as federal overreach into clearly unnavigable waters.
Rainwater pools, farm runoff, small property ponds, and other ephemeral or seasonal water bodies – like prairie potholes and temporary channels – were suddenly subject to federal regulation, not local farmers or landowners.
“WOTUS regulatory uncertainty has threatened the livelihoods of hardworking Iowa farmers, small businesses, and landowners for far too long and I was thrilled to join EPA Administrator (Lee) Zeldin in announcing that the Trump administration