April 16, 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 15
FARM BUREAU, CONGRESS RESPOND TO EPA PROPOSED WATER RULE Georgia Farm Bureau, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and members of Congress have expressed serious concerns over the EPA’s proposed water rule announced March 25. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has stated publicly that the proposed rule does not expand the scope of waters historically protected under the Clean Water Act. Farm Bureau and members of the U.S. House dispute this, noting that the rule would effectively remove the word “navigable” from the Clean Water Act by giving the EPA jurisdiction over any land that could have a hydrologic connection to downstream navigable waters. The proposed rule does include exemptions for certain farm activities listed under dredge and fill permits, but they are tied to compliance with Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) standards. “The U.S. Supreme Court, in separate decisions in 2001 and 2006, ruled that Congress meant what it said: navigable waters does not mean all waters,” said Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “This proposed rule shows that EPA refuses to accept those limits.” GFB sent a letter to all members of the Georgia congressional delegation requesting them to work to prevent the EPA from enforcing the proposed rule, which would place ditches, low areas that are only wet following rainfall, ponds and seasonally wet areas under federal control. GFB maintains that the proposed rule would negatively affect the property rights of all landowners. Members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works wrote to President Obama on April 9, expressing concerns that the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “are attempting to obtain de facto land use authority over the property of families, neighborhoods and communities throughout the United States.” Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Kurt Shrader (D-Ore.) wrote to McCarthy and Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh pointing out legal, economic and scientific deficiencies in the water proposal and asking them to address the flaws in the proposed rule. AFBF President Bob Stallman released a statement on April 1 saying the proposal would give the EPA authority over land features that are miles from the nearest navigable water and are not wet most of the time. “Under this proposed rule, farmers, ranchers and every other landowner across the countryside will face a tremendous new roadblock to ordinary land use activities,” Stallman said, noting that if permits are required they can be denied by the EPA or the Army Corps of Engineers. “That’s why Clean Water Act jurisdiction over farmlands amounts to nothing less than federal veto power over a farmer’s ability to farm.”