Western Governors have requested “early, meaningful and substantive involvement” with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the agency’s development and implementation of any policy or rule intended to define or clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act.
In response to the agency’s request for comment, the governors sent a letter on May 14, 2018 to Assistant Administrator David Ross of the EPA Office of Water recommending consultation with states, limits on federal regulatory authority and inclusion of state science in determinations.
“States possess primary jurisdiction over water resource allocation decisions and are responsible for balancing state water resource needs within the objectives of the Clean Water Act,” stated the letter signed by WGA Chair South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and WGA Vice Chair Hawaii Gov. David Ige. “EPA’s rules and policies affecting water resource management and protection should recognize, and not interfere with, this historic and well-established authority.”
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