Groups Reacts to New WOTUS Rule

On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a final rule establishing the definition of “Waters of the United States.” Many farm and ag groups have reacted to the news.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association responded to the newly-Published Waters of the U.S. Rule. The group says farmers and ranchers have dealt with the whiplash of shifting WOTUS definitions for far too long. “While the new rule retains longstanding exclusions for certain agricultural features, it still creates new uncertainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners,” says NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart.

NCBA previously asked the Environmental Protection Agency to retain agricultural exclusions for small, isolated, and temporary water features that commonly appear on farms and ranches. The new rule fails to clearly exempt isolated and ephemeral features from federal jurisdiction and relies on “case-by-case” determinations to assess whether a feature is federally regulated.

Hart says the timing of the rule couldn’t be worse as the Supreme Court is currently considering Sackett v. EPA, which would provide much-needed clarity to the WOTUS definition. “Today’s rule seeks to directly preempt the Supreme Court,” she says.

Other groups and politicians reacted to the news as well and you can view their statements below:

New Waters of the U.S. rule creates regulatory uncertainty for farmers

ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s and U.S. Department of the Army’s announcement of a final rule on Waters of the United States:

“The EPA’s latest rule on defining “waters of the United States” is a statement of federal overreach that ignores states’ authority to regulate intrastate water quality and the Clean Water Act’s statutory mandate for cooperative federalism. In turn, although we recognize EPA’s attempt at clarifying through a roster of exemptions, its rule ignores the voices of nearly all in American agriculture who have long been seeking clarity on this issue, especially regarding the debate over what is and is not a navigable water,” NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said.

“Farmers are committed to being responsible stewards of the land and water that they use to grow food, and the effectiveness of WOTUS should be taken with the same seriousness,” McKinney said.

As NASDA previously stated in multiple sets of comments and input throughout this regulatory process, the Clean Water Act establishes limits on federal jurisdiction and the role of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, thus recognizing the role of states in regulating non-navigable waters.

Further, the release of this ruling ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Sackett v. EPA wastes tremendous federal, state and private sector resources as the decision of SCOTUS will invariably shift water regulations across the United States yet again significantly. This is in stark contrast to the comments previously made by Administrator Regan to the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment that the EPA’s rule would “be in a position to respond and adjust to the Supreme Court ruling.”

Statement of NCFC President Chuck Conner on WOTUS Rule Publication

Washington, D.C. (December 30, 2022)—“The WOTUS rule published today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, although an earnest attempt to address a longstanding issue, will greatly amplify uncertainty for America’s farmers and ranchers, as federal regulators will be making case-by-case determinations based on highly subjective factors. While the rule does reel-in some of the dramatic regulatory overreach seen in the 2015 rule published during the Obama administration, it would still bring significant acreage that was not subject to regulation prior to 2015 under federal jurisdiction. It is especially unfortunate that this action has been taken while the Supreme Court continues deliberations on a WOTUS case heard this fall, since a decision in that case may once again require changes to the rule.

“NCFC and the farmer-owned cooperatives we represent remain fully committed to federal, state and local efforts to work with agriculture to protect surface water quality throughout the US. We do not believe the provisions in this rule will help us work together towards that critical goal.”

Thompson Statement on EPA’s Final WOTUS Rule

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers released their final definition of “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). Following the announcement, Chairman-elect of the House Committee on Agriculture, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, issued the statement below:

“Since day one of the Biden Administration, America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers have fallen under constant attack: burdensome regulation, record inflation, high input costs, the politicization of crop protection tools, supply chain disruptions, and now an egregious government land grab.

Finally, the timing of the rule is questionable given the fact that the Supreme Court is due to rule on a case related to WOTUS regulations in the coming months. I am concerned this action will only result in continuing the regulatory whiplash.”