The Environmental Protection Agency plans to complete formal repeal of the Waters of the U.S. Rule in April 2018. An updated regulatory agenda from the White House also shows a replacement rule is scheduled for proposal in May. A final version of the rule is not expected until June 2019. President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year repealing WOTUS. This was a move EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told the American Farm Bureau Federation, at the time, would bring certainty in water regulation for farmers and ranchers. AFBF has been calling on the EPA to “ditch the rule” since it was proposed during the Obama administration.
National Corn Growers Association public policy director Ethan Matthews has previously said it was important that the new rule does not say “everything under the sun” falls under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. He noted that corn growers farm over 90 million acres in the country, meaning they have a big role to play in the nation’s water quality.
Source: NAFB News Service