Press Releases

Last week the Department of the Interior withdrew the National Blueway designation for the White River.  In the wake of this move by the department, Congressman Jason Smith (MO-8) and Congressman Billy Long (MO-7) are seeking a hearing of the Natural Resources Committee to learn how the National Blueways System designation was initially imposed on the White River watershed in Missouri and how future designations can be prevented. 

In a letter to Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-4) and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-4) Long and Smith are asking for a field hearing to be held in Missouri in the coming weeks:

“This issue deserves congressional attention. As such, we invite you and the House Natural Resources Committee to conduct a field hearing in the White River watershed to hear directly from those who live in and conserve the watershed,” Long and Smith said in the letter. 

CLICK HERE TO READ SMITH AND LONG’S LETTER

The letter also points to questions the Department of the Interior needs to answer: (1) how states can opt-out of the Blueways program; (2) how much the program costs and how the Department is paying for it; (3) the legal authority that the Administration is using to justify the unilateral creation of this program; (4) the alleged benefits of the program; and (5) an explanation for the insufficient, closed-door review process that was used to justify the White River designation. 

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