Posted May 28, 2015
The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army finalized the Clean
Water Rule today to protect from pollution and degradation the streams and
wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources, according to
an EPA release available here.
Politico also published an article available here
and Farm Futures here.
The rule
ensures that waters protected under the Clean
Water Act (CWA) are more precisely defined and predictably determined,
making permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry.
The rule does not create any new permitting requirements for agriculture and
maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions.
“For the
water in the rivers and lakes in our communities that flow to our drinking
water to be clean, the streams and wetlands that feed them need to be clean
too,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Protecting our water sources is a
critical component of adapting to climate change impacts like drought, sea
level rise, stronger storms, and warmer temperatures – which is why EPA and the
Army have finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect these important waters, so
we can strengthen our economy and provide certainty to American businesses.”
Opponents are
already condemning it as a massive power grab by Washington, saying it will
give bureaucrats the authority to penalize landowners every time a cow walks
through a ditch. And it comes amid years of complaints from Republicans about
President Barack Obama’s regulatory agenda, which has encompassed everything
from power plants and health insurers to Internet providers and for-profit
colleges, according to Politico.
Critics
are already fighting back. The House voted earlier this month to block the rule.
Opponents are also preparing lawsuits that will add to an already long trail of
litigation over the government’s powers to regulate water, an issue the Supreme
Court has taken up twice, with confusing results, since 2001.
At nearly 300 pages, the final rule still pledges to avoid regulation of most ditches, groundwater or require more permits for agriculture activities, according to Farm Futures.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said based on
EPA’s previous statements about the WOTUS proposal, the agency's assurances
that farmer concerns have been addressed provides "little comfort."
"The
process used to produce this rule was flawed," AFBF President Bob Stallman
said in a press statement. "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 said it sets
"physical and measurable" boundaries for CWA jurisdiction of waters
near rivers and lakes as well as their tributaries. The rule also "limits
protection to ditches that are constructed out of streams or function like
streams and can carry pollution downstream," EPA said, "so ditches
that are not constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains are not
covered."
For more information on the Clean Water Act, please visit
the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
