The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) urged members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee April 9 to oppose S. 1870, the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). If enacted, the CWRA could expand federal jurisdiction beyond bodies of water not previously covered by federal law and delay or block critical transportation and congestion relief projects.
Removing the word “navigable” from the 1972 Clean Water Act would increase the number and types of waters falling under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ purview and the amount of instances where the Corps must decide whether or not to exercise jurisdiction, ARTBA said in testimony to the committee. “Extending federal jurisdiction would adversely affect many—if not all—transportation solutions communities rely on to address pressing public health and safety needs as well as reduce congestion by both increasing the amount of time it takes to complete the wetlands permitting process and opening up more Corps decisions to litigation by third-party project opponents.”
ARTBA also voiced concerns about the CWRA’s vague legislative language that could extend federal wetlands jurisdiction to all roadside ditches along any new or existing roadway. “Roadside ditches are an essential part of any transportation project and contribute to the public health and safety of the nation by dispersing water from roadways…Elevating roadside ditches and other isolated waters to the same protective status as ecologically-sensitive wetlands could create inefficiencies in state efforts to protect areas of true environmental importance,” the association said.
Expanding regulatory authority is not the only solution to improve water quality, according to ARTBA. The association outlined a series of recommendations to improve the permitting process, including increased use of wetlands mitigation, setting time-limits on permitting decisions and reducing restrictive requirements of the Nationwide Permit Program.
