SD delegation praises Trump plan to dismantle WOTUS

Today’s executive order instructs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with a new rulemaking that would remove protections restored under the Clean Water Rule.

Thirty-one states have challenged the rule in court, accusing the Obama administration of federal overreach, while the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued a report in October calling the order “a case study in legal shortcuts, predetermined conclusions, and politically motivated timelines”.

President Trump yesterday signed an executive order directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which clarified federal jurisdiction over waterways and wetlands under the Clean Water Act of 1972.

The Trump administration is continuing to scrap Obama-era environmental regulations, and it’s making Brown County farmers and ranchers take notice.

The rule was created under the Clean Water Act by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and met stiff resistance in North Dakota amongst farmers and ranchers.

The rule was met with significant opposition from farmers, developers and other groups, who felt it implemented excessive governmental regulations.

“We’re pushing very hard to make sure we’re continuing to be focused on water quality and on invasive species, because the Great Lakes aren’t only our source of drinking water, but they’re also a huge economic engine”, said Senator Debbie Stabenow.

“As EPA administrator, we’re going to focus on rule of law”, Pruitt continued. Trump said the rule has been “a disaster”. The former president’s water rule has been blocked by a federal appeals court. N.C.is among 27 states now suing over WOTUS in three separate suits calling it government overreach. But six state attorneys general vowed to fight the rollback – with lawsuits if necessary.

The Farm Bureau was one of the leading opponents to the rule, through its “Ditch The Rule” campaign.

Trump called the measure he overturned among the worst examples of federal regulations that have “run amok”, costing jobs, and “treating our wonderful small farmers and small businesses as if they were major industrial polluters”. EPA has too always been characterized by regulatory overreach that disregards the positive conservation efforts of farmers and threatens their very way of life. Unfortunately, President Trump and Republicans have made it so.

“The WOTUS rule sought to hand control of land-use planning decisions to out-of-touch activists and government regulators in New York, San Francisco and Washington“, Mr Weber said.