WOTUS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army (the agencies) issued a final rule to amend the final “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’” rule.

The U.S. House voted last week to repeal, on a largely symbolic 227-198 vote, the EPA’s controversial WOTUS rule.  The Senate could follow suit as soon as this week.  Democrats argued clean water is a human right that will suffer with the GOP’s move.  However nine Democrats, inclu...

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and attorneys general from 23 other states filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s Waters of the U.S. Rule.  The group says the EPA’s WOTUS rule “goes beyond the power Congress delegated in the Clean Water Act, raises serious constitutional concerns, and runs roughshod over the Administrative Procedures Act.”   “The administrati...

Thursday, several members of the House of Representatives, including Washington’s Dan Newhouse, Illinois’ Mike Bost, North Carolina’s David Rouzer, and Iowa’s Mariannette Miller-Meeks led 192 other House Republicans in a letter blasting the Administration for its "premature and reckless WOTUS final rule".  The Members demand th...

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, and 16 other farm and builders’ groups are not waiting around for the Supreme Court to clarify the definition of WOTUS.  NCBA, AFBF, and others filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Biden EPA last week for its final WOTUS rule.   The NCBA’s C...

The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers published the revised WOTUS rule in the Federal Register this week.  The publication means the revised rule will go into effect on March 20th.   EPA and the Army Corps announced the rule at the end of 2022, which will replace the Navigable Waters Protection Rule from the Trump Administration.  At the ...

Earlier this week, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture announced the organization’s primary policy focus for 2023.  NASDA members, the state commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture, hand-selected seven issues to focus on.   The is...

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, one thing is certain for farmers regarding the latest WOTUS final rule; more uncertainty.  The rule from the EPA comes as the Supreme Court prepares to soon release a decision on a lawsuit against a previous version of the rule.  AFBF De...

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the EPA’s timing in issuing a final Waters of the U.S. rule last week, ahead of a Supreme Court decision, will only cause more disruption and uncertainty for producers.  “Considerable confusion on the ground for the regulated community,” the Farm Bureau noted.   “That was one of t...

With oral arguments now complete in the Sackett versus EPA case before the Supreme Court, questions still remain related to whether or not the federal government has jurisdiction over certain parcels of land.  Courtney Briggs, senior director of government affairs for the American Farm Bureau Federation said the confusion goes back to a previous Supreme Court Case that created two tests of jurisdi