NFIB to EPA: Small Businesses Deserve Answers
www.NFIB.com
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eric Reller
202-314-2073 or [email protected]
NFIB to EPA:
Small Businesses Deserve Answers
Photo-Op on
River Bank Does Nothing to Help Small Business
Avon, Conn., September 29,
2014 — The National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB) Connecticut State Director Andrew Markowski today called on Curt
Spalding, Administrator for EPA’s New England Region, to address the concerns
of small business instead of posing with environmental groups on the banks of the Connecticut River.
“Small businesses have real concerns over
this massive federal overreach – and they would like the Administrator to
afford them the same regard he is giving these environmental groups,” said
Markowski. “But instead of
addressing those issues, the Administrator is promoting EPA over-reach on the
banks of a river.”
Spalding
is promoting the agency’s sweeping new proposal, changing the definition of
navigable waters under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which would expand EPA authority over US waters to
include farmers’ ponds, seasonal streams and even temporary bodies of water
that most Americans would call puddles.
“Congress was very clear in the original
Clean Water Act, directing exactly what authority the EPA has and what
authority it does not. The EPA has
disregarded Congressional intent – even as the U.S. House of Representatives passed
legislation earlier this month that would stop this unprecedented land grab in
its tracks. The EPA should heed that warning, stop sidestepping congressional
authority and follow the necessary rulemaking process.”
NFIB has extensive background on how expanding the EPA’s authority under the
federal CWA is regulatory over-reach that would dramatically impact small businesses
and private land owners.
For
instance, if a heavy rain produces standing water, a business owner may be
required to obtain permits in order to utilize or make changes to their
property. CWA permits can cost tens of thousands of dollars; with a major U.S.
Supreme Court case from 2006 putting the average cost at $270,000. There are
inevitably long waits for permit processing, and there is no guarantee your
permit will be approved. Failure to achieve this burdensome threshold can
result in penalties of up to $37,500 per day.
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NFIB
is the nation’s leading small business advocacy association, with offices in
Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 to give
small-business owners a voice in public policy-making, NFIB’s policy positions
are set by its 350,000 business-owner members, who send their views directly to
state and federal lawmakers through NFIB’s unique member-only ballot. NFIB’s
mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and
grow their businesses. More information is available online at www.NFIB.com/news.
