Between the weather, market prices and crop production, farmers and ranchers are already faced with significant uncertainty as they seek to make a profit while feeding and fueling the world. The last thing they need is more uncertainty and overregulation from the federal government. Fortunately, over the past two years, we’ve made significant progress undoing […]
In 2015 the Obama administration created a “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule that was so broad and vague that almost any spot where rainwater flows or pools might be tagged as a federally protected body of water. With the stroke of a pen, farmers and ranchers across the heartland suddenly did not know if […]
Many farms in the U.S. have been in the family for three, four, five and six generations or more. Most states have Century Farms programs, which recognize farms that have been in the same family for more than 100 years. In 2013 there were 15,000 Century Farms in Iowa, 9,800 in Illinois, 8,583 in Wisconsin […]
Federal officials proposed new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) guidelines on Monday to help protect farmers and landowners from intrusive government regulations, per a release from the Alabama Farmers Federation. In their proposal, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers clarified federal authority under the Clean Water Act. Alabama Farmers […]
The previous rule received backlash from farmers and ag groups, who said it would have given the federal government broad regulatory authority over even the smallest collections of water on farmland. The Obama-era rule was challenged in court and was never implemented in some states, including Iowa. The issue became a political rallying cry for […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) are delivering on the President’s agenda by proposing a new definition for waters of the U.S. The agencies’ proposal would end years of uncertainty over where federal jurisdiction begins and ends. It would clarify the role of our state and tribal partners […]
Missouri’s farmers and ranchers may soon have clear rules about how to protect our waterways. On December 11, President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new Clean Water Rule that would fix many of the problems created by the Obama administration’s 2015 “WOTUS Rule” power grab. Missouri farmers had many complaints with President Obama’s […]
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 Colorado, a headwater state and a semi-arid region, water resources are unique compared to other parts of the […]
Right now, because of litigation, the 2015 definition is in effect in 22 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories, while the previous regulations, issued in the 1980s, are in effect in the remaining 28 states. This unpredictable, regulatory patchwork will not continue under the Trump Administration. Going forward, the new definition for […]
Thankfully, President Trump heard the concerns of America’s agriculture community and acted to rein in what he called “one of the worst examples of federal regulation.” Shortly after taking office, Trump ordered his administration to review and replace the previous definition of the “waters of the United States.” Crafted by the feedback of people on […]