BOISE, Idaho (AP) - 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.”
The Idaho Legislature has a history of using largely symbolic legislation as a gesture of defiance against what they view as oppressive government controls.
There was little debate on the bill Tuesday.
Rep. Lawrence Denney, R-Midvale, noted the bill showed the level of frustration many Idaho residents feel toward the EPA and other federal agencies.
“I believe that HB 473 does perhaps try to go too far and is very likely unconstitutional as written,” Denney said as he requested the bill be returned to committee. There were no objections to his request.
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