The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday a replacement of the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule which had placed intermittent or seasonal waterways—many around farms—under federal pollution laws, redefining them as "navigable waters".
The new rule "removes millions of miles of streams and roughly half the country’s wetlands from protection under the Clean Water Act, which requires industries to obtain permits to discharge pollution or fill in wetlands and imposes fines for oil spills. It’s the largest rollback since the modern law was passed in 1972, going much farther than simply stripping out what the Obama administration attempted," Catherine Boudreau reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture. "The agency finalized the rule despite its scientific advisory board raising concerns in late December that it was 'in conflict with established science … and the objectives of the Clean Water Act.' The criticism was notable because the majority of the board members were handpicked by the Trump administration."
Agricultural interest groups, such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, hailed the new rule, saying that it corrected a regulatory overreach and made it simpler for farmers to understand water regulations, Boudreau reports.
"One of the agriculture industry’s top concerns about the Obama-era WOTUS rule in 2015 was that it was too vague, potentially allowing greater scrutiny of ditches used to drain stormwater off fields or carry irrigation water, and connect to other water bodies," Boudreau reports. "EPA officials at the time noted that the rule maintained long-held exemptions for normal agricultural practices, including runoff."
The new rule "removes millions of miles of streams and roughly half the country’s wetlands from protection under the Clean Water Act, which requires industries to obtain permits to discharge pollution or fill in wetlands and imposes fines for oil spills. It’s the largest rollback since the modern law was passed in 1972, going much farther than simply stripping out what the Obama administration attempted," Catherine Boudreau reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture. "The agency finalized the rule despite its scientific advisory board raising concerns in late December that it was 'in conflict with established science … and the objectives of the Clean Water Act.' The criticism was notable because the majority of the board members were handpicked by the Trump administration."
Agricultural interest groups, such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, hailed the new rule, saying that it corrected a regulatory overreach and made it simpler for farmers to understand water regulations, Boudreau reports.
"One of the agriculture industry’s top concerns about the Obama-era WOTUS rule in 2015 was that it was too vague, potentially allowing greater scrutiny of ditches used to drain stormwater off fields or carry irrigation water, and connect to other water bodies," Boudreau reports. "EPA officials at the time noted that the rule maintained long-held exemptions for normal agricultural practices, including runoff."
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