Your Award-Winning News Source for the Upper Delaware River Valley Region Since 1975
Vol. 41 No. 23
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Farm groups criticize water rule
JUNE 4 - 10, 2015
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www.riverreporter.com
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at Stone Wall Farms
EPA says farming is exempt By FRITZ MAYER
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ASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 27 formally adopted the final rule on the definition of “Waters of the United States” that are protected by the Clean Water Act (CWA). According to a press release from EPA, “The rule ensures that waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined and predictably determined, making permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry. The rule is grounded in law and the latest science, and is shaped by public input. The rule does not create any new permitting requirements for agriculture and maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions.” The rule expands the jurisdiction of the EPA and the CWA to ponds, streams and in some cases ditches, but only if those are “ditches that are constructed out of streams or function like streams and can carry pollution downstream. So ditches that are not constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains, are not covered.” Still, that level of authority bothers a lot of people, especially those in farm organizations, who don’t believe the EPA’s claims that this will not result in more regulation of farming. The New York Farm Bureau (NYFB) issued a statement saying its members oppose the rule “because of the potential regulatory overreach that will allow for federal control over land that is typically dry. Clean water has always been a priority and necessity for farmers, but we are concerned that the rule will strip property owners of long-held land rights.” The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) also opposed the rule, and supports a measure passed in the House of Representatives in Washington that would require the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), to withdraw the rule. PFB President Rick Ebert made the statement, Continued on page 3
CURRENTS: Moran intrigues
TRR photo by Fritz Mayer
A rider coaxes his horse through an obstacle outfitted with flexible tubes, through which many of the horses refused to go.
By FRITZ MAYER
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EFFERSONVILLE, NY — Some 50 riders competed in the Cowboy Challenge held on May 23 in Jeffersonville at Stone Wall Farms, opened to the public by Ed and Barbara Moran in 1993. The event is a chance for riders to show off their skills working with their horse as a team to overcome obstacles and in some cases complete certain tasks. Some of the obstacles don’t seem to bother the horses too much, but others take quite a bit of convincing, and if the horse doesn’t complete the obstacle within a set amount of time, a signal is sounded and the rider moves on. Points are awarded for completing the obstacles and doing so in good time. During the time this reporter was observing the contest, the only rider to convince her horse
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to climb up onto a truck tire filled with sand was the Moran’s daughter, Emma, riding a horse named Hawk. The event brought contestants and their mounts from far and wide, to match their equine skills against their peers. The event also raised money for the Ride 2 Survive – Sullivan County, which is a community-based organization whose mission is to assist with transportation expenses for Sullivan County residents who have been diagnosed with cancer and are under the care of an oncologist. The Cowboy Challenge participants raised some $900 for the organization. Go to www.riverreporter.com to view a brief video of a couple of the riders.
SPANNING 2 STATES, 4 COUNTIES, AND A RIVER THAT UNITES US
CURRENTS: All aboard Stourbridge is back
TR R photo by A contestant Fr itz Mayer turn horse through an s afftter successfully guiding her obstacle and on to the next one.
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The River Reporter