A 2015 rule that expands the federal government’s control over private land nationwide should be vacated in its entirety, attorneys argued in papers filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. AFBF and a broad coalition of business groups, along with the state of Texas and others, are suing to do away with the 2015 “Waters …
Iowa Allowed To Join WOTUS Lawsuit
A North Dakota federal judge says Iowa can temporarily stop enforcing the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule (WOTUS). The Associated Press says several ag and business groups challenged the law in court, seeking to halt its implementation. A news release from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ office says the rule went back into effect in Iowa in August. A federal …
Working to Defeat the ‘Zombie’ WOTUS
Waters of the United States (WOTUS) is back in the news again. Scott Yager, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association chief environmental counsel, explains why producers in 26 states are facing what they call a “zombie” WOTUS. Working to Defeat the Zombie WOTUS
AFBF, Coalition Seek Reprieve from Order Reviving Flawed WOTUS Rule
On behalf of America’s farmers and ranchers, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) on Monday asked a federal district court in South Carolina to stay its order striking a rule that delayed implementation of the flawed 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule. Without a stay, the court order has the effect of immediately reviving and implementing the controversial WOTUS rule …
Ag Groups Respond to WOTUS Ruling
Last week’s federal court ruling lifting a delay on the controversial, Obama-era Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule has drawn a swift rebuke by key farm groups. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duval calls the South Carolina U.S. District Court ruling that upends a Trump EPA delay of WOTUS until 2020 while the agency rewrites WOTUS, “misguided.” Here …
Farm Bureau: Now, More Than Ever, We Must Ditch the Rule
The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “Due to a misguided ruling by a single federal district court, the overbroad, vague and illegal 2015 Waters of the United States Rule is now the law of the land in twenty-six states. “To avoid widespread uncertainty and potential enforcement against ordinary farming activities in these already-uncertain …
Farm Bureau Files Brief Supporting Water Rule Opponents
The American Farm Bureau Federation, together with a broad coalition of other farm and business groups, filed a brief in support of 13 states challenging the EPA’s 2015 “Waters of the United States” rule before a federal district court in North Dakota. The brief explains how EPA repeatedly broke the law in writing a rule that would vastly expand its …
EPA, Army Corps, Sign WOTUS Delay
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has signed an order to block the Waters of the U.S. Rule. A hold of the rule placed in 2015 will soon be lifted by a federal appeals court following the Supreme Court ruling that says jurisdiction of the rule lies in federal district courts, not appeals courts. Pruitt appeared at the National …
Farm Bureau Applauds Delay of Unlawful WOTUS Rule
The following may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall: “The American Farm Bureau Federation applauds today’s action by the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to delay implementation of the hopelessly vague 2015 rule that expansively defined ‘waters of the United States (WOTUS).’ That rule would have put a stranglehold on ordinary farming and ranching …
EPA Sends WOTUS Delay Rule to White House
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent a final rule to the White House that would prevent the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule from taking effect. The EPA rushed the rule to the White House because of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling placing the legal jurisdiction of the rule in federal district courts, not federal appeals courts, where …