WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) pledged to halt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) newly proposed rule to expand the definition of navigable streams to include "seasonal or rain-dependent" streams during a budget hearing with the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. On Tuesday, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filed the rule for a 90-day public comment period.

"Every hollow and valley in my region has some sort of a stream running through it, sometimes dry or intermittent, and those will be under your jurisdiction," said Rogers, who serves as Chairman of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. 

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy served as a witness during the budget hearing. 

This rule comes on top of newly proposed greenhouse gas standards for coal-fired power plants that Rogers said the EPA knows are impossible to meet. 

"By creating this new definition, the administration is again striking at Kentucky and other economies and workforces," said Rogers. "The nation needs this inexpensive electricity that comes from burning coal. Nothing else can produce the power that is already in place by burning coal. so whether you like it or not, and I know you don't, you are going to have to use coal to keep your lights on."

On Wednesday, Chairman Rogers also questioned U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy about the agency's lack of information for executing the new water rule and associated cost estimates. He warned there wouldn't be a penny for the program without knowing the cost and more implementation details.

In his closing comments to McCarthy, Rogers said, "you're grinding to a halt, the economic engine of this country."

*MEDIA NOTE: Rogers' opening statement begins in the clip at 14:40.

 

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