WOTUS Congressional call-in day Email
Tuesday, August 25, 2015 07:00 AM

old telephoneThe National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) has organized a call-in campaign to urge Senators to "support the bipartisan bill S 1140, and urge the EPA to listen to their co-regulator, the Army Corps of Engineers, about the serious flaws" in the Clean Water Rule (aka Waters of the US or WOTUS).

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet is a key figure in this regulation, so Colorado constituents are vital to the success of the campaign. His Denver metro office can be reached at 303-455-7600 (Toll Free: 866-455-9866). 

The following is a Legislative Alert from NALP:
WOTUS District Call Day: Thursday, August 27th

The Senate leadership has said that it will not bring the Federal Clean Water Protection Act (S. 1140) to the Senate floor unless there are 60 confirmed votes for the measure. In order to reach the 60-vote threshold, we are focusing our grassroots efforts of the list of Senators below. If you live in Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, or Virginia, please call your Senators at their district offices on August 27 and ask for their support of S. 1140. District office contact information is below, as are some talking points for your conversations.

These Senators are essential to any Hill action on WOTUS. Senators are home for August recess, and we need constituents to make their voices heard at the district level. Thank you for all of your assistance.

Senator King (I-ME)    207-622-8292
Senator Tester (D-MT)    406-252-0550
Senator McCaskill (D-MO)417-868-8745
Senator Warner (D-VA)    804-775-2314
Senator Stabenow (D-MI)    313-961-4330
Senator Casey (D-PA)    215-405-9660
Senator Bennet (D-CO)    303-455-7600
Senator Franken (D-MN)    651-221-1016
Senator Klobuchar (D-MN)612-727-5220

Please plan on reaching out to these offices on Thursday, August 27, and share the message that this rule does not have support from green industry OR from the EPA’s co-regulator. NALP has included some brief talking points below on the Corp’s concerns. [You can also find key quotes from the Corps memos here .] Forward on to any association or industry that may wish to participate – the more calls, the more of an impact we will make.


Message to Senators:
The EPA rule on Waters of the United States goes into effect tomorrow, August 28th. New information has been released that show the Army Corps of Engineers believes this rule is “legally vulnerable, difficult to defend in court, difficult for the Corps to explain or justify and challenging for the Corps to implement.”

In light of the serious concerns the Corps has raised, and the fact that there is still a huge amount of confusion and uncertainty within the regulated community, we ask that the rule be withdrawn and re-proposed. Please support the bipartisan bill S 1140, and urge the EPA to listen to their co-regulator, the Army Corps of Engineers about the serious flaws in this regulation.

  • Please co-sponsor the bipartisan Federal Clean Water Protection Act, S. 1140. The final Clean Water Rule would have a profound and significant impact of professionals to protect public and private property near water from harmful pests, as well as their ability to install plants and other landscape features.
  • The rule creates a great deal of confusion and potential liability for lawn care and landscape professionals about whether or not permits are needed working on landscapes with certain water features.
  • New information has been released that shows the Army Corps of Engineers believes this rule is “legally vulnerable, difficult to defend in court, difficult for the Corps to explain or justify and challenging for the Corps to implement.” These concerns highlight the importance of Senate action on S. 1140.


Previously on the LAB:
WOTUS final rule faces multiple lawsuits
What is a WOTUS?