Congressional Review Act Attack on the Clean Water Restoration Rule

In late December 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued its final Waters of the US (WOTUS) rule. This modest “Clean Water Restoration Rule” ensures that critical waters- from small streams to rivers to wetlands- are protected from unregulated pollution and destruction when they have important downstream effects on water quality

Now, there is an effort in Congress to overturn the new rule using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which is a legislative tool that allows Congress to invalidate a recently-finalized agency rule and prevent any future administration from issuing a rule that is “substantially the same.” The CRA requires only a majority vote to pass in both chambers, and has expedited procedures that allow it to skip committee consideration and amendments in the Senate.  The CRA is an incredibly blunt and dangerous tool with the potential to eliminate significant environmental and public health protections.  See here for some resources on the CRA: