Members of the House sent a strong, bipartisan message that the flawed Waters of the U.S. Rule (WOTUS) is unacceptable and should be scrapped, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman said in a statement.
Stallman called it refreshing that members of Congress ordered regulators back to the drawing board, with an admonition to listen to the very real concerns of people who would have their farm fields and ditches regulated in the same manner as navigable streams.
“The way that the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers drew up the WOTUS rule, it was more about regulating land than it ever was about protecting valuable water resources,” Stallman stated.
“Farmers and ranchers know all about the importance of protecting water, and they will continue to put that belief into practice. Through cooperative conservation measures, we have helped cut land erosion by more than 50 percent in just the last 20 years. We have reduced pesticide use and today use technology to apply just the right amount of fertilizer at just the right time. We look forward to a new water rule that recognizes the enormous work we have done, and honors the limits authorized by Congress and the Supreme Court.”