EPA will not appeal federal ruling in Clean Water Act case against West Virginia farmer

The Environmental Protection Agency's decision "not to appeal a key federal ruling in favor of West Virginia farmer Lois Alt highlights the cynicism that drives the agency's water agenda, the American Farm Bureau said," reports Wisconsin Ag Connection. "The U.S. Court for the Northern District of West Virginia earlier ruled against EPA and in favor of farmer Lois Alt in October 2013. The court rejected EPA's contention that the Clean Water Act regulates ordinary stormwater runoff from the farmyard (non-production areas) at large livestock or poultry farms."

"Since no federal court had ever addressed the question of stormwater runoff from farms such as Alt's, the lower court's ruling carries implications for tens of thousands of poultry and livestock farms nationwide," Wisconsin Ag Connection writes. "An appellate court decision upholding that ruling would make it even harder for EPA to persist in imposing wide-scale federal permitting requirements on large animal farms."

"EPA's voluntary dismissal of its appeal signals the agency's desire to avoid a likely loss in the appellate court," Wisconsin Ag Connection writes. "The appeal could still go forward if any of the five environmental groups that intervened in support of EPA decides to go forward without the government." (Read more)