Three years ago, when the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a flawed “waters of the U.S.” rule, I was wondering what this meant for our family ranch. Apparently, I had a lot of company. I don’t think there was a farmer or rancher in the West who could tell […]
Is it possible to have cleaner waterways across the country and, at the same time, less federal regulation? Fortunately, for a wide swath of the economy — from farming to mining, home building to construction — the answer is yes. Not just any water quality policy will accomplish these twin goals, however. It will be […]
On Dec. 11, I joined the presidents of all 50 state Farm Bureaus at the EPA headquarters in Washington to announce a new proposed clean water rule to replace the flawed 2015 WOTUS rule. As the rule is published in the Federal Register, the details will take some time to sort out, and there may […]
To best enable water projects and towns across Idaho and our nation to continue to deliver clean water while facing growing pressures on our water resources, primary jurisdiction over the allocation, management and use of water must remain as constitutionally directed — with the states, not the federal government. Last year, President Trump issued an […]
Concern has been raised that burdensome and excessive federal regulations can delay or prohibit American businesses from investing in infrastructure or land development projects that will create jobs, grow crops, and improve how we manage our natural resources. Upon taking office, President Trump initiated a process to review and replace unnecessary regulatory barriers, which included […]
For eight long years of ideological warfare many states have argued that rainwater runoff, ditches, and puddles are not bodies of water, much less navigable ones, and that federal bureaucrats have no right trying to define them as such so as to establish their authority over every inch of private property in this country. Three […]
Our new proposal would make it easier to understand where the Clean Water Act applies — and where it does not. It would facilitate critical infrastructure projects, reduce barriers to business development and support economic growth. In Utah, a headwater state and a semiarid region, water resources are unique compared with other parts of the […]
Top federal officials traveled to the Wilson County fairgrounds outside of Nashville Tuesday to promote the Trump Administration’s proposal to weaken a federal clean water regulation. Andrew Wheeler, acting administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue called on Tennessee farmers to engage in the contentious debate. Trump officials want […]
The Trump administration is calling on farmers to throw their support behind a proposal to withdraw federal protections for many of the country’s waterways and wetlands. Environmental Protection Agency acting administrator Andrew Wheeler and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue on Tuesday traveled to Tennessee to drum up support among the state’s agricultural community. Wheeler says […]
On Dec. 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rolled out its updated “Waters of the United States” rule. Before you roll your eyes, let me explain. You may remember that this rule was botched by the Obama administration’s EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. It was an overstep of the original intent of the […]