Having been slapped down by the U. S. Supreme Court's two recent decisions that the words "navigable waters" in the Clean Water Act limited federal agencies to regulation of navigable waters only. Democrats and liberal Republicans in Congress are striking back.
They are attempting to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2009 (No House Number - S 787 In Senate) that would amend the 1972 Clean Water Act and replace the words "navigable waters" with "waters of the United States."
Further, it defines "waters of the United States" with such breathtaking scope that federal agencies would be required to regulate use of every square inch of the U.S., both public and private.
The proposed definition states: "The term 'waters of the United States' means all waters subject to ebb and flow of the tides, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes [a flat dried up area, esp. a desert basin...] natural ponds and all impoundment of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution."
But of course since the vast majority of US laws *and* the vast majority of the federal budget are not authorized under the Constitution, Congress accepts no such limitations any more. |