THE HILL: Opinion: Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC): The farm bill presents a chance to lighten the regulatory burden of farmers
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 mountain ranges,” went after him for improperly converting a wetland into an upland. Duarte just settled the case for $1.1 million. There’s of course the infamous “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule that would have effectively regulated almost every water possible. The rule was so extreme that waters could have been regulated even though the human eye couldn’t see the water. Fortunately, the Trump administration is moving towards getting rid of the WOTUS rule and will develop a new rule that will likely be based on the law and common sense.
