WASHINGTON—Last week President Biden vetoed a congressional resolution that, according to the Associated Press, “would have overturned protections for the nation’s waterways that Republicans have criticized as overly intrusive.”

The Clean Water Act protects the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). At dispute are, according to the AP, “hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways.” Under President Obama, WOTUS was defined more broadly, expanding the EPA’s regulatory authorization. The Trump administration rolled back the definition before Biden’s EPA again expanded it.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Biden WOTUS rule that the U.S. Congress sought to overturn “expands the agencies’ authority, using vague terms to define millions of acres of water and land features including ponds, farms, and backyards. As a result, landowners, businesses, and farmers will be forced to hire expensive consultants and experts to figure out whether they need permits to use their land. If wrong, they may face severe penalties.”

Biden, in his veto message, said that the “increased uncertainty” caused by congressional action “would threaten economic growth, including for agriculture, local economies and downstream communities.” The president also said that “the resolution would also negatively affect tens of millions of United States households that depend on healthy wetlands and streams.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was one of four Democratic senators to support the resolution that Biden vetoed. “The overreach, basically, it’s unreal,” he said.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del) defended the EPA rule: “The Biden rule requires us to be good neighbors, and stewards of our planet, while also providing flexibility for those who need it.”