WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Peter DeFazio (D-OR) blasted passage of H.R. 3189, the so-called Water Rights Protection Act. This broadly written legislation would undermine critical environmental laws and go after federal agencies that manage our public lands for future generations.
“This isn’t a serious attempt to fix a real world problem. This isn’t an attempt to protect private property rights. This is just another attempt to undermine critical environmental protections and target federal agencies that manage our public lands for future generations. This bill was dead before we even voted on it," said DeFazio.
At a November mark-up DeFazio expressed that the legislation was a serious overreach with disastrous implications. Republicans rebuffed his concerns and pretended that this bill sought only to protect ‘private property rights’. However, the Republicans had to file numerous amendments to exempt Bureau of Reclamation contracts, implementation of the Endangered Species Act and other authorities under the Federal Power Act because the bill would have impacted those operations. Unfortunately, they left out many critical functions from their exemptions.
“After initially ignoring my warnings that this bill was far-reaching, the majority changed the legislation to exempt certain agencies and federal laws. Why? The Republicans finally figured out that they passed a bill out of committee that could have had significant impacts on the operations of the Columbia River power system, potentially affecting power users, irrigators and thousands of businesses in the Pacific Northwest. They fixed that issue, but not others related to the management of National Parks, Monuments, Wildlife Refuges, and Wild and Scenic River designations. It’s a poorly written bill and luckily it is dead on arrival in the Senate," said DeFazio.
This legislation has been opposed by groups such as the Western Governor’s Association, American Rivers, Trout Unlimited, and the National Parks Conservation Association. A full list can be found here.
DeFazio’s floor statement on HR 3189 can be found here.
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