The Farm Post eNews

Friday eNews from the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus

MAY 29, 2015

EPA AND ACE PUBLISH WOTUS RULE

On Wednesday, the White House, U.S. EPA, and Corps of Engineers published the final WOTUS rule. The rule takes effect in 60 days.

IFB, AFBF and other groups are reading through the 297 pages of the final rule and will develop more defined comments.

A cursory review indicates that very little has changed. It is as if EPA did not take into account substantive comments from farmers, businesses, local governments and other opposing the proposed rule. It still reads like the same WOTUS rule that does not offer clarity, opens the door to agency enforcement actions, citizen suits against farmers and landowners and greatly expands Federal authority from water to land features.

To add insult to injury, White House senior advisor Brian Deese said this morning at a news conference: "The only people with a reason to oppose the rule are polluters."While it may be a bit of hyperbole on the part of the White House, it is indicative of the attitude crafters of the rule have in the White House.

Farm Bureau will continue to work to enact legislation to force EPA to withdraw and rewrite the rule. If we're not successful in getting H.R. 1732 or S. 1140 enacted, we will also work through the appropriations process to defund WOTUS implementation.

Here are a couple of actions you can take now:

Call the White House Comment Line at 202-456-1111 and tell them that contrary to Mr. Deese's accusation, you are not a polluter but a farmer trying to improve water quality. Tell them you are offended and outraged by Mr. Deese's statement and by the EPA's mishandling of the entire process.
Go to the Legislative Action Center and urge both Sen. Durbin and Sen. Kirk to cosponsor and support S. 1140.

Here are links to various comments:

Rep. Shimkus statement

EPA Clean Water Rule fact sheet

White House blog post

IFB Weighs in on WOTUS Rule

Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert, Jr., issued the following statement regarding the waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation finalized Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).

"Every day, Illinois farmers demonstrate their deep commitment to improve water quality on their farms. The Illinois Farm Bureau is currently reviewing EPA's final ruling in detail, however we believe this new regulation will cause greater confusion and new legal liabilities for farmers and land owners, while providing both agencies with almost unlimited authority to regulate at their discretion.

"In addition, Illinois Farm Bureau believes this regulation will create a flood of unnecessary enforcement actions under the Clean Water Act as well as citizen lawsuits against farmers for routine farming practices like applying fertilizer or controlling weeds and pests in their fields.

"The Illinois Farm Bureau doesn't believe this regulation reflects the intent of Congress and we will ask our elected officials to take any available action to prevent the WOTUS rule from being implemented.

"Finally, Illinois Farm Bureau strongly encourages Congress to address EPA's unprecedented, unseemly and possibly illegal grassroots campaign to generate hundreds of thousands of public comments in favor of the regulation. Federal regulatory agencies should not be in the business of ginning up public or political support for their own actions."

AFBF Not Happy with WOTUS Rule

AFBF President Bob Stallman reacted to publication of the EPA/ACE WOTUS rule with the following statement on Wednesday.

"We are undertaking a thorough analysis of the final WOTUS rule to determine whether the Environmental Protection Agency listened to the substantive comments farmers and ranchers submitted during the comment period. Based on EPA's aggressive advocacy campaign in support of its original proposed rule - and the agency's numerous misstatements about the content and impact of that proposal - we find little comfort in the agency's assurances that our concerns have been addressed in any meaningful way.

"The process used to produce this rule was flawed. The EPA's proposal transgressed clear legal boundaries set for it by Congress and the Courts and dealt more with regulating land use than protecting our nation's valuable water resources. EPA's decision to mount an aggressive advocacy campaign during the comment period has tainted what should have been an open and thoughtful deliberative process. While we know that farmers and ranchers were dedicated to calling for substantial changes to the rule, we have serious concerns about whether their comments were given full consideration.

"We expect to complete our review in the next few days. We are looking in particular at how the rule treats so-called ephemeral streams, ditches, small ponds and isolated wetlands. We will decide on an appropriate course of action once that review is complete."

On This Day

MAY 29, 1736

MAY 29, 1765

PATRICK HENRY

Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736, in Studley, Virginia. He was a brilliant orator and an influential leader in the opposition to British government. As a young lawyer, he astonished his courtroom audience in 1763 with an eloquent defense based on the doctrine of natural rights-the political theory that man is born with certain inalienable rights.

On his twenty-ninth birthday, as a new member of Virginia's House of Burgesses, Henry presented a series of resolutions-the Stamp Act Resolves-which opposed Britain's Stamp Act. He concluded his introduction of the Resolves with the fiery words "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third-" when, it is reported, voices cried out, "Treason! Treason!" He continued, "-and George the Third may profit by their example! If this be treason, make the most of it."

The Resolves were adopted on May 30, 1765.