"Time to Ditch the Water Rule
By Chris Chinn
My husband, Kevin, and I
farm in northern Missouri with his parents and brother. We are the fifth
generation of farmers in our family and we raise hogs, cattle, corn, soybeans
and rye. We are also raising our children on our farm and clean water is
important to us. Regardless of whether Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
requires it, protecting our water is one of our priorities. We want to pass our
farm on to the next generation so it only makes sense that we care for our
natural resources in a responsible manner.
EPA’s proposed Clean Water
Act rule will significantly affect our family farm. The proposed rule will
expand the scope of “navigable waters” subject to
Clean Water Act jurisdiction by regulating ditches, small and remote “waters”
and ephemeral drains where water moves only when it rains.
Most of these areas look
more like land than like “waters” and they are dry most of the year. This
proposed rule means any ditch on your land will be regulated by the EPA, even if
it only holds water one day a year. This will prohibit farmers from using land
that is in or near a ditch unless they have a Clean Water Act
permit.
Congress writes the laws of
the land, not federal agencies. When Congress created the Clean Water Act, it
clearly limited federal regulatory power to “navigable” waters. Congress did
not intend to allow EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to regulate farmland
just because water occasionally flows across it. EPA should respect the limits
set by Congress.
Some people are saying
farmers and ranchers should have no concerns because we are “exempted” from the
rule but this is not the case. The “normal farming and ranching” exemption only
applies to a specific type of Clean Water Act permit for “dredge and fill”
materials. There is also no farm or ranch exemption from Clean Water Act permit
requirements for what the EPA would call “pollutants,” but I would call plant
nutrients and protection products. This means under the proposed rule, many
common and important practices like weed control and fertilizer spreading will
be prohibited in or near so-called “waters” unless you have a Clean Water Act
permit. This further complicates my situation due to the fact we frequently use
recycled fertilizer from our hog barns.
Another startling fact is
the EPA and the Corps have interpreted the word “normal” to mean only
longstanding operations in place since the 1970s—not newer or expanded farming
and ranching. Does this mean when we pass our farm onto the next generation’s
hands that they will no longer be able to farm that land? This rule would appear
to me to be detrimental to new and beginning farmers—exactly the type of farmer
that many of us in agriculture have been working hard to support. That just
makes no sense.
The proposed Waters of the
U.S. ruling is a bad idea and it will cripple the ability of farmers and
ranchers to continue to produce food. If the proposed rule prevails, it will be
illegal for farmers to spray for weeds or apply fertilizer to their ground
unless they have a permit. Routine tasks like building fences will even require
permits if they will be built in or near a ditch. Many farming practices are
time-sensitive and farmers cannot afford to wait on a government agency to
process a permit.
Common sense goes a long
way and it is desperately needed when looking at this proposed ruling. If dry
farm fields and ordinary farm ditches and ponds are allowed to be regulated as
“waters of the U.S.,” farming and ranching will suffer and so will those who
depend on agriculture for food.
We need to make our voices
heard. It is time to ditch the water rule. You can share your comments and make
your voice count by visiting the FBAct Insider page: http://capwiz.com/afb/issues/alert/?alertid=63192396."
Government regulation is impacting our industry more every day. What do you think of the point of this plea or regulation in general?
Thanks,
Ed Winkle
Obviously the EPA should be allowed to regulate the smallest ditch, as long as they can regulate the most important reason for them to control the whole cycle, not just the least important part of it, so, as long as they are able to prove that they can regulate where and when the rain falls...
ReplyDeleteI think regulation is way out of hand. I wish we as a people used more common sense and had a smaller government. Maybe I was born 50 years too late.
ReplyDeleteEd
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