The Biden-Harris Administration has done the unthinkable, seizing authority over nearly all of Alaska’s Arctic, but Rep. Mary Peltola has remained a no-show in Washington, not defending Alaska’s economy or sovereignty.
In a critical House Transportation Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment hearing on Sept. 11, Peltola was notably absent, while testimony was given by a state official concerning the Biden-Harris Administration’s declaration of nearly all of Alaska’s Arctic to be wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act. Peltola is a member of the House Transportation Committee.
Biden’s action contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 rulings on wetlands, known as Sackett v. EPA. Peltola not only was absent, but provided no written testimony to the committee on the Biden-Harris actions that will wreak havoc on Alaska’s economy.
The Biden-Harris Administration claims that nearly all of Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain is a wetland protected under the Clean Water Act, in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 wetlands ruling, an Alaska state official told a House subcommittee on Wednesday.
It’s an example of the Biden administration’s regulatory overreach, Alaska Department of Environmental Protection Commission Emma Pokon told the House subcommittee hearing, and the overreach extends to permafrost on the North Slope.
“We have roughly 900,000 miles of navigable rivers and streams; 22,000 square miles of lakes; 27,000 miles of coastline; and, at about 130 million acres, more wetlands than every other state in the union combined. And all of that is before considering glaciers and groundwater. Anyone looking to build a home, a road, or a mine in the state will likely
impact a water of some sort,” Commissioner Poken said in her testimony.
Federal agencies continue to grope for complete authority over all waters, Poken said. More than a year after Sackett was decided and the agencies published a revised rule, EPA and the Corps have not developed any standard that can be understood and implemented by the regulated community and state partners. The federal government appears intent on “leveraging uncertainty and the risk of civil and criminal liability to effectively maintain sweeping authority in their own hands,” Poken said.
Peltola announced earlier this week that she is taking the entire week off to mark the one-year anniversary of her husband’s fatal plane crash. It is a cultural tradition, she said. She also took all of July off to cut and smoke salmon, also saying it was in honor of a cultural tradition. She has spent no meaningful time in Washington D.C. this summer but may be back at work in mid-September, barring any other cultural events that she must mark.
Her participation could have been crucial, given that Alaska’s waterways are essential not only for its environment but for fishing, energy, and infrastructure development.
Critics of the administration’s approach, including Republican subcommittee members, argued that the current regulatory environment hampers economic development. They cited delays in project approvals, especially for key industries like energy and construction, and referenced projects across the nation being stalled due to bureaucratic delays. One example discussed was Novo Nordisk’s $4 billion expansion project in North Carolina, which has been hampered by permitting delays under WOTUS rules.
The absence of Rep. Peltola was seen as a missed opportunity for Alaska to voice its concerns directly to the panel. Alaska, with its vast wetlands and waterways, faces unique environmental and economic challenges that require careful balancing of federal oversight and state-level autonomy.
Watch the hearing here:
Witness list and written testimony can be seen at these links:
Ms. Emma Pokon, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation | Witness Testimony
Ms. Nicole Rowan, Director, Water Quality Control Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment | Witness Testimony
Ms. Courtney Briggs, Chairman, Waters Advocacy Coalition, on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation | Witness Testimony
Mr. Vincent E. Messerly, P.E., President, Stream and Wetlands Foundation, on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders | Witness Testimony
Wait a minute, Peltola has radio ads running non stop on how she fights for Alaskans. She fights for fishing, mining, and supposedly was instrumental in the Willow project. Is it possible she’s not being truthful with us?
She should return to tradition: skin boat, willow bow, birch arrows, animal skin clothing, no glasses and no modern medicine from the evil developed people. That should please her extremist supporters. It is a choice to live in the modern or stone age. My ancestors came from primitive conditions not that many generations ago, in fact now just about 200 years from the opening of their land to modernization (in childhood my father knew my great-great grandfather). We can and should recall the past, but we also choose to live in the present and look forward to a better future.
This is not just a Sierra Club petting zoo. And I do recall Sierra Club jet flying into Mcgrath during hearings on Donlin mine, and in her designer environmentalist $1000 shoes she stood to tell how good jobs would ruin the ‘quaint’ (her exact word) lifestyle of the Kusko people.