The House Small Business Committee wrote May 23 to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy, urging them to withdraw the joint proposed waters of the U.S. rule, saying it failed to include an analysis of the impacts on small businesses.

“We believe the agencies should withdraw the rule and conduct the required small business outreach and analysis before proceeding with the rulemaking,” wrote Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) in the letter. A copy of the letter was sent to Howard Shelanski, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and Winslow Sargeant, chief counsel for advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The letter, which was signed by the committee's Republican members, said the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the federal government to conduct small business advocacy review panels to get input before proposing a rule.

The lawmakers said the agencies failed to provide any certified explanation, as required by the RFA, to declare that small businesses would be unaffected by the rule. They said the proposed rule would cause farmers, ranchers, home builders, transporters and construction companies to incur significant costs in hiring environmental consultants and attorneys to obtain permits.

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