Sen. Bennet wants EPA to regulate this ditch.

Sen. Bennet wants EPA to regulate this ditch.

Looks like U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner had found a win-win way to stop the EPA’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation — don’t give the government any money to enforce the ridiculous rules.

Unfortunately, Senate Democrats along with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet managed to defeat the defunding amendment to a spending bill.

WOTUS is the rule that allows the Environmental Pollution Agency to regulate every puddle of water they can find, including ditches. According to Gardner, that’s 1 million acres and 170,000 miles of streams in Colorado.

“A glaring example of the federal government’s overreach, the WOTUS rule is an unconstitutional takeover of our local waters, which traditionally have been and should continue to be managed by states, local governments, and water districts,” said Gardner.

The amendment for next year’s spending would have added voice to the pending lawsuit in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has halted the extreme overreach by the feds.

Gardner also voted for a bill in November that would require bureaucrats to redo their regs and include stronger protections for states and agriculture, and accept public input from communities — a tactic the EPA loves when environmentalists demand it.

“The WOTUS rule unfairly burdens Colorado farmers and ranchers with endless red tape and unnecessary costs, and that’s why I stand with them in firmly opposing it.”

Too bad Bennet doesn’t think so and helped to fund the ridiculous rule. This is but one in a stream of reasons why voters should reject Bennet on Election Day.