Idaho House Bill That Proclaimed EPA Regulations Unconstitutional Dead For Session
BOISE, Idaho — A bill that would have declared many restrictions handed down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as unconstitutional failed to advance in the Idaho House on Tuesday. The bill was instead returned to the Natural Resources and Conservation Committee, killing its chances of passage as this session winds to a close.
Rep. Paul Shepherd, a Republican from Riggins, had touted his bill as a way for Idaho to disregard many federal regulations on air and water pollution. In particular, his bill would help dredge miners in his district whose work was impeded by what they call the EPA's unnecessarily restrictive water pollution rules.
Shepherd said the dredgers had nearly been put out of business by EPA permit requirements. "You suck up water, pass it over a little sluice box and dump that back in the river," Shepherd said. "How can that be pollution?"
But the bill was met with deep skepticism from lawmakers who questioned its legality. An opinion by the Idaho Attorney General had found the bill was clearly unconstitutional, calling that finding a "certainty."
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