Rep. LaMalfa Comments on Supreme Court’s Rejection of WOTUS Designations

Washington, DC – Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) today released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision in United States Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes, affirming that landowners have the right to seek judicial review of government designations of private property as Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The Obama administration has proposed regulating virtually every body of water in the nation under WOTUS rules, vastly expanding the authority of the government to interfere in local land use decisions.

“Today’s ruling rightly rejects the Obama administration’s attempt to exempt government decisions limiting property rights from judicial challenges, reaffirming one of Americans’ most fundamental rights. The Waters of the United States regulation will have devastating impacts on rural economies and property rights and I’ll continue working to roll back this misguided proposal. The administration’s claim that WOTUS designations should be exempt from judicial review is ridiculous on its face and I am pleased that the Court rejected it.”

LaMalfa has repeatedly fought expansions of WOTUS, sponsoring an amendment (H.Amdt. 209,114th Congress) signed into law defunding federal regulation of farming and ranching activities exempted from the Clean Water Act. He also cosponsored H.J.Res.59, rejecting the Obama administration’s Waters of the United States regulation, and worked with the Chairmen of the Agriculture and Transportation & Infrastructure Committees to roll back the regulation.

Video of LaMalfa’s previous comments on the Obama administration’s WOTUS proposal at the following link: https://youtu.be/3bhTRUaUt9Y

Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.

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