FRANKFORT, Ky. — With the introduction of the Federal Water Quality Protection Act (FWQPA) in the U.S. Senate, Congress is taking big steps toward addressing the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule regarding Waters of the U.S., commonly called WOTUS.

Last year the EPA along with the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a rule that would define "the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA) … This proposal would enhance protection for the nation’s public health and aquatic resources, and increase CWA program predictability and consistency by increasing clarity as to the scope of ‘waters of the United States’ protected under the Act."

Upon announcement of the rule, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said, "We are clarifying protection for the upstream waters that are absolutely vital to downstream communities."

She stated clean water is essential to families who rely on safe places to swim and healthy fish to eat, farmers who need abundant and reliable sources of water to grow their crops, hunters and fishermen who depend on healthy waters for recreation and their work and businesses that need a steady supply of water for operations.

Since the rule was announced, however, many legislators and agriculture groups alike have voiced their concerns about what exactly this rule would mean. FWQPA was cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), who said no one wants cleaner water or better land conditions than the families who live on American farms. "That is why it is incredibly important that the EPA rewrite the Waters of the United States rule with input from the people who live and work on the land and alongside these waters every day," he said.

Many organizations and individuals opposed to the rule say there has not been a long enough comment period. National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA) President Philip Ellis said, "EPA Administrator McCarthy has already sent her final rule to the Office of Management and Budget. Finalizing the rule only six months after receiving over 1 million comments sends a clear message that EPA has no intention of listening to the broad array of stakeholders and is pushing forward with a problematic rule."

One of those problems, according to opponents, is the agency is looking to expand federal jurisdiction over nearly all waters. The NCBA stated, "Under the proposal, nearly all waters in the country will be subject to regulation, regardless of size or continuity of flow."

According to information from Donnelly’s office, the Senate Bill says the "administration cannot complete the rule without following the principles and the procedural steps in the bill. In the principles, the bill includes explicit protections for waters that most everyone agrees should be covered, like navigable waters, drinking water sources and wetlands that filter out pollutants from our rivers and lakes. "It also provides common-sense exemptions for isolated ponds and agricultural or roadside ditches, most of which EPA has indicated they never intended to cover. The procedural steps include reviewing economic and small business impact and requiring consultation with stakeholders such as the states and the ag community, including Soil and Water Conservation Districts."

The bill also gives a clear deadline, requiring the EPA and Army Corps to complete its rule by Dec. 31, 2016.

Cosponsors of the FWQPA include a bipartisan list of Senate heavy-hitters including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the bill’s main sponsor, John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.).