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WASHINGTON, DC - Opening remarks, as prepared, from Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC) from today’s hearing, entitled “Review of Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request: Agency Perspectives (Part I)”:

Today’s hearing is part one of two in a series of hearings this Subcommittee will hold on the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal. We will hear from the remaining agencies under this Subcommittee’s jurisdiction in part two, but today we are pleased to have with us the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

I appreciate that we have both Major General Graham here today from the Corps itself and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Mr. Connor, from the political leadership here as well.

I’d like to start by bringing attention to an issue that is incredibly important to my constituents in North Carolina and communities all across the country: the definition of “waters of the United States” or “WOTUS” as we so often call it. The Corps plays a major role in enforcing the Clean Water Act Section 404 “dredge and fill” permitting program over waters that are considered WOTUS.

The WOTUS question has been debated for decades in court along with a variety of Presidential Administrations weighing in. But the definition of WOTUS and its implementation is more than simply a few words that lawyers and bureaucrats can make a career out of. It is an issue regulated communities deal with daily, including farmers, ranchers, homebuilders, private property owners, and infrastructure developers.

The Supreme Court recently delivered, in my opinion, a very clear, seemingly easily implementable decision regarding the definition of WOTUS in Sackett v. EPA last month. This ruling enables the Administration to kickstart project completion and eliminate regulatory red tape while maintaining crucial environmental protections. The Supreme Court has now clarified what the intended scope of the Clean Water Act has been from the beginning. With the discarding of the “significant nexus” test regulated communities will finally have some clarity under the law.

Now it is up to EPA and the Corps to quickly bring the Biden Administration’s legally flawed and obsolete WOTUS policy into compliance with the Sackett decision and provide implementation guidance consistent with the rule. Regulated communities deserve the clarity of the Sackett ruling to be implemented in Corps districts across the country, so that important projects can be permitted to move forward. I hope the Corps will focus its work towards compliance with Sackett, rather than trying to find a way around it.

On another note, Major General Graham and Assistant Secretary Connor, you both know how important the Corps’ projects are around the country, and in my district—the seventh district of North Carolina—it is certainly no different.

The beaches in my district rely on regular Army Corps maintenance to protect life, property, and our critical tourism economy. I am pleased the Corps has provided an emergency use exemption of the Masonboro Inlet as the Wrightsville Beach Borrow Site for the upcoming renourishment project, which is a year delayed, as you know. Without speedy nourishment, Wrightsville Beach could suffer catastrophic disaster and losses in the event of a natural disaster. I also look forward to the Administration's approval of 10 million dollars in emergency funding for the project under the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies account. And I appreciate all the great work you all are doing on that front.

The President’s budget proposal and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) would provide the Corps with robust funding, especially for flood control and beach nourishment maintenance activities. I hope the Corps will use the funds provided by both the IIJA and regular appropriations efficiently for those such projects.

Moving on from the Army Corps, we also have folks here from two other important entities: the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS).

TVA has not taken any federal funds since 1999, which certainly is rare amongst entities created by Congress. I look forward to hearing more about TVA’s “all of the above energy approach,” utilizing a diverse portfolio of energy sources, including solar, natural gas, and nuclear, all while providing relatively stable rates and reliable power to its consumers.

I would also like to offer TVA a special congratulations on their 90th anniversary this year.

Finally, congratulations to Mr. Tindall-Schlicht on his appointment as Administrator of GLS. GLS plays an important role in ensuring crucial routes from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean remain open via the St. Lawrence Seaway. At a time when we understand the need to strive for economic prosperity in the face of global competitors like China, the GLS provides important services to the flow of minerals, steel, and other critical goods.

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