Ernest L. Greer | Chris Clark 2014 Chair President & CEO

www.gachamber.com

270 Peachtree Street NW, Suite 2200 | Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1240 | Phone: 404.223.2264 | Fax: 404.223.2290

July 7, 2014

The Honorable Paul Broun

United States House of Representatives

10th Congressional District - Georgia

2437 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Broun:

In advance of the House Science Committee’s hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the United

States proposed rule, I am writing to express the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s concerns with the potential impact of

the proposed rule on our Chamber members and the surrounding community.

I would like to register my support for the effort of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to address

this important issue. The Supreme Court has twice affirmed that both the U.S. Constitution and the Clean Water Act

place limits on federal authority over intrastate waters. Moreover, Congress has decided not to change the careful

balance between federal and state regulation.

EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposed this rule to change the definition of “Waters of the United

States” under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This change is comprised of a complicated set of regulatory definitions,

including new and poorly defined terms, based on ambiguous and untested legal theories and regulatory exclusions.

The result is a proposal that asserts jurisdiction over waters, including many ditches, conveyances, isolated waters, and

other waters, that are presently under the jurisdiction of the states and that is inconsistent with Congressional intent

and recent Supreme Court decisions.

EPA’s proposed rule will create a great deal of uncertainty for our business members, and could put potential projects

and investments in a holding pattern due to the uncertainty of what would be covered jurisdictionally and who would or

would not need a permit.

This proposed rule could also impact existing operations or facilities by expanding the jurisdiction to cover businesses

that were not previously required to hold a permit

In addition to the new permitting requirement and use restrictions businesses will face, the EPA’s permitting process

does not provide any certainty for planning purposes. Recently, the EPA for the first time used its power to retroactively

veto a valid CWA permit, thereby halting an on-going and lawfully permitted operation. EPA currently is in the process

of potentially using its power to prospectively veto another project before companies involved could even apply for a

permit but, after hundreds of millions of dollars had been spent in up-front expenditures. Subjecting businesses to this

type of uncertainty in the permitting process will send investment dollars elsewhere.

We ask that you stop the EPA from finalizing this proposed rule that would create a significant amount of uncertainty

and would impact the business community in a detrimental way. Thank you for your time and consideration to this

matter.

Sincerely,

Chris Clark

President & CEO

Georgia Chamber of Commerce