Stay Informed

The American Farm Bureau Federation applauded the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers for a new rule that brings much needed clarity and certainty to enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

The new rule repeals the 2015 WOTUS (waters of the U.S.) rule and clarifies which level of government – federal or state – oversees dry land that is sometimes wet. It doesn’t change who oversees permanent waterways, such as lakes, rivers, streams and other bodies that always or usually contain water, but it does make clear that usually dry areas should not be considered federal waters.

It’s taken three years during the present administration to reach this point, noted Don Parrish, AFBF senior director of regulatory relations.

“What it means is we revert back to the rules that existed before 2015,” Parrish said. The next step is a “new regulation that provides the kind of clarity that I think our members deserve, that I think the public deserves, but also provides protections for water quality.”

“Farmers and ranchers care about clean water and preserving the land. That’s why we support the new clean water rule,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “We appreciate the commitment of the agencies involved and this administration to crafting a new regulation that achieves important regulatory oversight while allowing farmers to farm. Clean water, clear rules.” 

As part of its fight to repeal the 2015 WOTUS rule, AFBF worked with the Waters Advocacy Coalition, a broad cross-section of small businesses, farmers, ranchers and builders. In addition to AFBF, members include the U.S. Chamber, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Association of Home Builders and the Edison Electric Institute.

“This new rule does not reduce or remove environmental protections of any waters – it simply brings clarity to which level of government oversees which body of water under the federal-state partnership established by the Clean Water Act,” the coalition said in a joint statement.

“This is a huge win for Farm Bureau,” Parrish added. The next step is to develop a rule that clearly identifies which bodies of water should be regulated by the federal government and which should be regulated by states.

Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have jurisdiction to regulate “navigable” waters, defined in the statute as the “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS.  Any waters not regulated by the federal government are regulated by states and local municipalities. On multiple occasions, the Supreme Court has said the federal government has a broad but not unlimited role in the use of public and private land.

However, in June 2015, the EPA and the Army Corps finalized a controversial rule that, according to AFBF, drastically increased their regulatory reach beyond those limits by expanding the definition of WOTUS to include nearly all waters nationwide and many land areas that only temporarily hold water.