House fails to override Biden veto on GOP repeal of EPA’s clean waterways rule
Cami Mondeaux
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The House failed to override a veto by President Joe Biden issued earlier this month upholding the definition of the “Waters of the United States” that was implemented under the Clean Water Act.
The motion to override Biden’s veto failed to pass the lower chamber in a 227-196 vote, falling below the two-thirds majority threshold needed to pass the legislation. Ten Democrats joined 217 Republicans on the veto override vote, and one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), sided with 195 Democrats.
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The bill was able to pass the House with bipartisan support the first time around.
The bill was later passed by the Senate in early April with four Democrats — Sens. Jon Tester (MT), Jacky Rosen (NV), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), and Joe Manchin (WV) — joining all Republicans and independent Sen. Krysten Sinema (AZ). However, Biden vetoed the measure on April 6, marking only his second veto since being elected president.
The disapproval resolution sought to strike down the administration’s WOTUS rule, which aims to require permits for construction and mining in bodies of water in the country. The legislation also proposed redefining which bodies of water would be protected under the Clean Water Act, which is the primary federal law that regulates water pollution.
The definition of which waterways are covered under the law has gone back and forth in recent years, particularly after former President Donald Trump took office.
In April 2020, the Trump administration issued its Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which sought to restrict which bodies of water would be covered by the Clean Water Rule, rolling back several regulations enacted by then-President Barack Obama in 2015. However, Trump’s rule was vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in August 2021.
The Environmental Protection Agency then announced it would interpret the WOTUS rule as being “consistent with the pre-2015 regulatory regime until further notice.”
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Several House Republicans pushed back on that proposal, arguing it would harm farmers and other businesses by making “sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water.” Biden rejected those arguments, noting the revived rules would clarify things.
“Farmers would be left wondering whether artificially irrigated areas remain excluded or not,” Biden wrote in a letter to Congress earlier this month. “Construction crews would be left wondering whether their water-filled gravel pits remain excluded or not. The resolution would also negatively affect tens of millions of United States households that depend on healthy wetlands and streams.”