A Letter from Congressman McKinley on the Occasion of the A.B. Brooks Symposium

Under a century-old law, the 1906 Antiquities Act, Presidents can unilaterally designate National 
Monuments without any input or involvement of the American public, community leaders or elected 
officials. This authority, enacted prior to the establishment of today's land management laws, was 
intended to be used in emergencies to protect historic artifacts and sites of scientific value from imminent 
threat and "confined to the smallest area" necessary.

In response to this potential for abuse, I supported the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of 
National Monuments Act (H.R. 1459), which passed the House in March of last year. This bill would 
guarantee the American people an opportunity to participate in the decisions that impact their 
communities and ensures that the designation process is transparent. Additionally, this bill would ensure 
that national monument designations are not done in secret, but allow for the proper input from the people and communities.

In addition to this legislation, I have worked on developing a proposal that would further amend the 
Antiquities Act to ensure that before a National Monument is established, a number of steps are taken. 
First an effective land management plan should be in place. Including land-use decisions made by the State and local governments, with Federal involvement only being made at the explicit request of the 
local governments, the plan also ensures that hunting fishing and recreational activities be allowed to 
continue. These measures would effectively take the power away from the President to declare 
monuments, and put the land management in the proper hands.

Another issue of concern is abuse from the EPA. Whether it be from requiring permits for storm water 
runoff associated with silviculture activities, or redefining the definition of Waters of the U.S., the EPA keeps trying to overreach their jurisdiction.

In regards to the permitting for stormwater runoff, in the 113th Congress we passed a measure in the Farm 
Bill barring the EPA from requiring these permits. I also cosponsored H.R. 2026, the Siliviculture 
Regulatory Consistency Act, which would have prohibited the EPA from requiring permits for storm 
water runoff from silviculture activities. We will continue to fight to prevent this abuse of permitting.

The waters of the U.S. proposed rule in regard to "navigable waters" is a particularly damaging EPA proposal. From farmland to coal mines, the EPA wants more control. Giving the federal 
government the authority to regulate bodies of water that are in fact nothing more than drainage ditches 
will only lead to more bureaucratic bullying. If this rule goes into effect it will hurt family farmers and small businesses and mean fewer jobs for hardworking West Virginians.

In fact, the House passed H.R.5078—the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act—during the previous Congressional session. This legislation had strong bipartisan support to prevent this drastic overreach by the EPA. This 
bill would restrict agencies' current administrative efforts to expand federal jurisdiction under the CWA 
and requires that agencies engage in a federalism consultation with their partners in implementing the CWA. A similar bill, of which I am an original cosponsor, was introduced during this Congressional session. The EPA has 
stated their intent to finalize the rule this spring; this bill would put a stop to that effort and force them to 
consider non-regulatory solutions.

There's still a lot of work to be done, and I look forward to tackling new issues in the 114th Congress. 
Your presence here today is just an example of our commitment to forestry, through commemorating 
A.B. Brooks and the impact he had on our wild and wonderful state.

Again, thank you for the opportunity for me to express my thoughts with you. I look forward to working together again in the 114th congress.

Sincerely,

David B. Mckinley

David B. McKinley, P.E.

Member of Congress