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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Friday, December 27, 2024
EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced their new “waters of the U.S.” proposal Tuesday at an event that attracted dozens of farmers and industry leaders who had long sought straightforward definitions that allowed farmers to more clearly decide how to operate on their lands.
Lawmakers seek to move their long-awaited farm bill this week, and the Trump administration is set to release a new “waters of the U.S.” rule that would remove ephemeral streams and many wetlands from federal jurisdiction.
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to estimate that it will have a new WOTUS rule by next September, but meeting that target date may be difficult. The timeline is according to the government's latest agenda for regulatory action.
House and Senate negotiators are likely to provide another infusion of cash into rural broadband development, but an effort to repeal the Obama-era “waters of the U.S. rule” doesn’t appear likely to survive the talks on fiscal 2019 spending bills.
The farm bill negotiators face a self-imposed deadline this week for reaching a deal that Congress could act on by the end of the month when the 2014 farm bill expires.
The American Farm Bureau Federation and other agricultural organizations are asking a Texas court to block enforcement of the Obama-era “waters of the U.S.” rule in the 26 states where courts have not already stayed its implementation.
A federal judge ruled that the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers improperly suspended the Obama-era “waters of the U.S. rule,” allowing it to take effect in 26 states where it has not been blocked by court order.
Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited with government officials and agribusiness leaders during a closed-door session Monday, talking about the RFS and WOTUS.
Andrew Wheeler, newly appointed acting administrator of the EPA, said when President Donald Trump asked him to take over from the now-departed Scott Pruitt, he told Wheeler to do three things: “Clean the air, clean the water, and provide regulatory relief.”
