The U.S. Chamber of Congress and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) have filed a lawsuit to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers from enforcing a controversial new rule that would regulate every trickle of water in America - no matter how small - and could cost businesses $37,500 a day as part of an "audacious power grab that could destroy hometown businesses and local economic development."
NFIB, along with the Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit late last week in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. NFIB expects the case to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently struck down a similar regulation because the EPA failed to perform a mandatory economic impact analysis.
"By redefining what constitutes a 'water of the United States' the agency sidestepped the Clean Water Act, Administrative Procedure Act, and the U.S. Constitution," U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President of Environment, Technology, & Regulatory Affairs William Kovacs.
“The EPA and the Army Corps have rewritten the Clean Water Act in an effort to expand their power and—in the process—have completely ignored their obligation to seriously consider small business impacts,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center.
The cost of engaging compliance specialists could be thousands of dollars, permits could cost tens of thousands, and the penalty for non-compliance runs $37,500 per day, she explains:
“Under this rule, a small business owner that may want to do something as simple as mulch their land, may need an expert opinion to determine whether they need an EPA permit before they can do that. That opinion is going to cost thousands of dollars and if the determination is that they need an EPA permit, they’re now looking at tens of thousands of dollars in permitting fees.
“In addition, if they don’t get a permit and they were supposed to, the penalty is $37,500 a day.”