CLEAN WATER ACT EXPANSION WILL LEAD TO STAGNATE SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH
HARTFORD (June 17, 2015): Today the National Federation of
Independent Business (NFIB) is calling on Connecticut’s Congressional
delegation to join the chorus of voices in opposition to the Clean Water Act
expansion. Originally intended to govern navigable waterways, federal agencies
recently received a nod from the White House to implement a rule that will not
only give both the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers
vast power over the regulation of water, but cost small business in Connecticut
tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars to comply.
“If rain collects on your property somewhere or you happen
to have a pond or a stream bed that remains dry but for a small amount of time
per year, then chances are the federal government will be requiring you to pay
an exorbitant amount of money for a permit.” Said NFIB Connecticut State
Director Andrew Markowski. “The cost of complying with the new regulations if
implemented, will average $270,000 a permit. Violators of the Clean Water Act
could be fined up to $37,500 a day. There really isn’t a small business in
Connecticut that can afford these costs.”
The Clean Water Act was originally implemented to govern
navigable waterways, not every place where water could possibly flow or
pool. As proposed, the definition is so expansively redefined that the
federal government could now apply the decades old act to creeks, small ponds
and even streambeds that are dry most of the year. It will now be up to
Congress to undo the potential damage the expansion of the rule will cause.
“Small businesses in Connecticut employ thousands of people,
but regulations like these will cripple those that are attempting to expand
their business. When a manufacturer builds a new facility or a farmer grows
more crops, we all benefit. When the government makes it harder to do these
things, we all lose. Congress has the opportunity to ensure that the growth of
our largest employer in Connecticut, small business, is not stifled but
supported to succeed and they can start by eliminating the expansion of the
Clean Waters Act,” Concluded Markowski.
