WGA delivered testimony to a Senate subcommittee that expressed the Governors' continuing "opposition" to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed rule on regulation of surplus waters.
The testimony, delivered by Policy Advisor Ward Scott, was in response to the proposed rule, “Use of [Corps] Reservoir Projects for Domestic Municipal & Industrial Water Supply.” The oversight hearing was held June 13, 2018 before the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight.
"Western Governors have consistently expressed their opposition to the Proposed Rule and to any agency rule or policy that would – or has the potential to – interfere with, subordinate, or in any way diminish states’ well-established legal authority over water resources within their boundaries," said Scott in his opening remarks.
The Governors’ concerns focused on three primary elements: the "Proposed Rule may have preemptive effects on states’ sovereign authority over water resources ... the Corps’ overly-broad proposed definition of the term “surplus waters” includes ... river flows which should remain under state jurisdiction ... (and) the Corps’ has not adequately consulted with potentially-affected states."
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