EPA, Lawmakers Square Off Over Proposed Clean Water Act Rule

The showdown between EPA and farm groups and crop protection organizations over the Environmental Protection Agency’s interpretation of Clean Water Act language protecting the “waters of the United States” has begun, reported Delta Farm Press.

The first round begins with a proposed rule jointly released by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in March. The agencies said the rule is designed to “clarify protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources.”

Some farm groups and farm-state members of Congress blasted the release of proposed rule, with Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) calling it an attempt to take control of Americans’ private properties. He predicts that the rule will “have a devastating impact on Missouri farm families” and serious implications for dredging, filling and drainage activities nationwide.

EPA and Corps of Engineers officials say the proposed rule clarifies protection for streams and wetlands and will apply to all Clean Water Act programs. It does not protect any new types of waters that have not historically been covered under the act and is consistent with the Supreme Court’s more narrow reading of Clean Water Act jurisdiction, they said.

Farm and crop protection organizations have been warning EPA intended to expand its authority under the Clean Water Act to declare intermittently-flowing streams and prairie potholes as “waters of the United States.” The designation would allow EPA to include such bodies of water in its regulatory authority. Officials said the proposed rule preserves the Clean Water Act exemptions and exclusions for agriculture.

The proposed rule will be finalized after the final version of a scientific assessment is complete, officials said, and will be open for public comment for 90 days from publication in the Federal Register.

The interpretive rule for agricultural activities is effective immediately.