Last month, the Trump administration rolled back the birth-control mandate. Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the Waters of the United States rule will suffer a similar fate. “We’re providing regulatory clarity there,” Mr. Pruitt said at the conference Friday. “Two-step process, actually: We’re withdrawing the deficient rule from 2015. That process […]
The Environmental Protection Agency is looking to delay the start date for the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule for two years, giving the agency and the Army Corps of Engineers more time to reconsider a key definition that is at the heart of litigation opposing the regulation. “This step will allow us to […]
When President Trump entered the office earlier this year, regulatory burdens was a top concern for U.S. producers. His 2-for-1 regulatory rollback (eliminating two regulations for every one proposed) he announced early on in his term and actions on top-of-mind concerns such as WOTUS are getting high marks. In our August survey, 86% of those […]
Trump’s executive actions include rescinding the Environmental Protection Agency’s “waters of the United States” rule, which critics credibly argued was so broad it would have allowed the federal government to treat drainage ditches in arid land as a regulated body of navigable water. Even Democratic members of the House and the Senate publicly opposed the […]
Imagine being a farmer and not knowing whether you can plow part of your land out of fear that federal bureaucrats will decide you would be violating the Clean Water Act. For farmer John Duarte, this was his reality. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, claiming Duarte’s plowing created furrows that were mini-uplands and “small […]
The 2015 WOTUS rule attempted to clarify which wetlands and waterways are covered by the Clean Water Act. For farmers and ranchers, however, the 2015 rule provided no clarity or certainty. Instead, through vague and overly broad definitions of terms such as “tributary,” “adjacent” and “significant nexus,” the 2015 rule made it extremely difficult for […]
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa this week is partnering with Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota on two pieces of legislation. One bill would give the U.S. Small Business Administration’s watch-dog agency more authority to force federal officials to assess and acknowledge the financial impact proposed regulations have on small businesses. “Right now […]
A “waters of the United States” rule that is clear, feasible and maintains existing exemptions for everyday farming activities: That’s what agricultural stakeholders sought during a teleconference with federal officials, as agencies seek to develop a new WOTUS rule. “Many agricultural interests that took part in the call expressed concern about the lack of consistency […]
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is in Nebraska to discuss with state officials on the decision to rescind the 2015 “Waters of the United States” rule. This ruling allowed the federal government to regulate and oversee all water found on property period. Pruitt says this never should have happened. Pruitt says, “It is all […]
[Pruitt] I’ve been on a 25-state tour over the last two to three months with respect to the Waters of the United States rule. We’re withdrawing that rule. We’re getting that right. As we’ve gone through that process, I was in Utah with Gov. [Gary] Herbert talking about issues there, the second driest state in […]