COEUR d'ALENE - State officials are examining how new federal rules protecting streams, tributaries, wetlands and the drinking water of 117 million Americans may affect Idaho.

Idaho's Republican senators and governor have already come out against the new rules implemented Wednesday, saying the rules are giving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers too much regulatory control over Idaho's water.

Sen. Mike Crapo issued a statement Wednesday urging Congress to take immediate action on bipartisan legislation called the "Federal Water Quality Protection Act."

"In the face of unprecedented opposition from small businesses, agricultural groups, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and ordinary citizens, the administration is still moving forward in finalizing the EPA efforts to wrongly assert jurisdiction over nearly all waters of the United States," said Crapo. "The administration's water grab is not only harmful to our economy and inconsistent with the original intent of the Clean Water Act, it subverts state water sovereignty and will jeopardize private property rights. Congress must act immediately on S. 1140, the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, a bipartisan effort in the Senate that would rein in EPA's misguided attempt to exceed the bounds of its statutory power."

According to the Associated Press, the White House said the rules will provide much-needed clarity for landowners about which waterways must be protected against pollution and development.

The rules, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, aim to clarify which smaller waterways fall under federal protection after two Supreme Court rulings left the reach of the Clean Water Act uncertain.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the waters affected would be only those with a "direct and significant" connection to larger bodies of water downstream that are already protected.

The Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 left 60 percent of the nation's streams and millions of acres of wetlands without clear federal protection, according to EPA, causing confusion for landowners and government officials.

The new rules would kick in and force a permitting process only if a business or landowner took steps to pollute or destroy covered waters.

The EPA said the rules will help landowners understand exactly which waters fall under the Clean Water Act. For example, a tributary must show evidence of flowing water to be protected - such as a bank or a high water mark.

Gov. Butch Otter submitted 26 pages of comments on the rule last fall, according to his spokesman, Jon Hanian.

"Last November, the state of Idaho submitted formal comments and concerns to EPA during the public comment period for the draft proposal. Part of our concerns stemmed from the fact that states were not meaningfully consulted in the drafting of this sweeping proposal," Hanian said. "Many of our comments in November also questioned the authority and legality of EPA's proposal and whether or not Idaho's electric generating units should even be subject to them."

Hanian said Idaho's Public Utilities Commission, Office of Energy Resources, and Department of Environmental Quality have been routinely coordinating with each other on the new rules and reaching out to EPA and the regulated utilities.

"The governor is in the process of deciding our next course of action," Hanian said Thursday. "There will likely be many legal challenges to this rule and we will work with our stakeholders to determine the best path forward for Idaho as the process plays out."

According to the Associated Press, environmental groups are praising the new rules, saying many of the nation's waters would regain federal protections that had been in doubt since the Supreme Court rulings.

Margie Alt, executive director with Environment America, called the rules "the biggest victory for clean water in a decade."