For years, farm groups and producers made their voices heard about the proposed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Obama Administration. The EPA under the Trump Administration has tabled that rule and proposed a new WOTUS definition, and the comment […]
Farm Bureau groups are galvanizing members to comment on the new Clean Water Rule. Leslie Holloway, head of regulatory affairs with the Missouri Farm Bureau, tells members the new rule is better than the far-reaching Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule under the Obama administration, “This proposed rule is completely different from that. It IS […]
Late last week the public comment period started on the rewrite of the Waters of the U.S. Rule and will remain open until April 15. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Chief Environmental Counsel Scott Yager says his group is in favor of the re-written regulation and will be filing comments supporting it. He says several environmental […]
After years of legal and political battling, the Trump administration is nearing the final stage of undoing President Obama’s overzealous Waters of the United States rule. A far more reasonable regulation known as the Clean Water Rule would take its place. Between Feb. 14 and April 15, the Environmental Protection Agency is taking comments on […]
In a statement to DTN, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the group supports the proposal. “Today’s release of a new draft Clean Water Rule is a major step toward fair and understandable water regulation on America’s farms and ranches and other working lands,” Duvall said. “We haven’t yet examined every word of […]
Last December, the Trump administration presented a proposal to pull back many of the EPA’s cumbersome rules – among them, the Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, regulations. Those are rules regarding “navigable waters” that basically tell Americans what they can do with sometimes even the tiniest sprinkling of water on their property. Under […]
On the regulatory front, this administration is clearly better than the last, said Paul Schlegel, managing director of public policy for the Farm Bureau. “There is a tendency to listen a little bit more in this administration and welcome input,” he said. Outreach is better, and there’s a willingness to get a feel for what […]
A Dearing plant nursery was the backdrop for acting Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler to outline proposed changes to the “Waters of the U.S.” rule that determines which waters are subject to federal regulation. Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, has served as acting EPA administrator since the July resignation of Scott Pruitt amid […]
Builders scored a major victory at the end of 2018 when the Trump administration released its proposed new definition for the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. This revised rule is a welcome reprieve from the 2015 WOTUS definition, which was confusing and a huge encroachment of federal authority. From the moment the 2015 […]
Our office also remains actively involved in arguments to undo the Obama-era WOTUS rule, a regulation that, like the job-killing Power Plan, we stopped in its tracks. That crucial victory blocks the federal government from using the Obama-era rule to take control over almost any body of water, such as isolated streams, dry creek beds, […]