FARM PROGRESS: Commentary: Proposed clean water rule good for ag

At the Family Farm Alliance, we support the proposed actions to repeal and replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule, which we viewed as a jurisdictional expansion that would create additional bureaucratic red tape. The 2015 Obama rule also impedes Western producers’ ability to manage the delivery and use of water to grow food and fiber for the world. Despite these concerns, we worked constructively with the EPA during the Obama administration to ensure that, regardless of what happens with the various court proceedings, assurances will remain that allow for construction and maintenance of irrigation ditches and the maintenance of drainage ditches.

We’ve also worked closely with the EPA during the Trump administration to advance these concerns as well. Of critical importance to Western water users, irrigation and roadside ditches will be excluded under the new WOTUS definition, unless they are specifically included in a few narrow circumstances.

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