EPA Unveils Navigable Waters Protection Rule

The Trump Administration’s long-sought replacement to the Waters of the United States rule is now public, drawing praise from ag interests but threats of lawsuits from environmentalists. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Environmental Counsel Scott Yager says the Navigable Waters Protection Rule will boost clarity in what farm and ranch features are federally controlled, versus state and local.

Features not under federal jurisdiction include stock ponds, ditches, prior converted cropland and groundwater. But Yager says the new final rule may not be the last word…

Among the environmental groups criticizing the new rule was the Natural Resources Defense Council, which said that the Trump administration is “stripping protections” from streams and wetlands can calling their approach, quote: “a blatant disregard for science, and for public health.” Meanwhile, the American Farm Bureau Federation said the replacement rule provides “clarity and certainty,” allowing farmers to farm, without having to “hire teams of consultants and lawyers.” National Farmers Union president Roger Johnson also welcomed the clarity for farmers but stressed that farmers also need access to clean, safe water for their families, adding that EPA must balance the two.