WV Farm Bureau Magazine July 2016 | Page 4

PRESIDENTIAL PARADIGMS

Flood Reminds Us of Nature ’ s Power

Charles Wilfong , President , West Virginia Farm Bureau
June 30 , 2016 will be a day that many West Virginians will never forget . The flooding that occurred that day has been classified as a 1000-year flood in some areas . Towns like White Sulfur Springs , Caldwell , Rainelle , Richwood , Clendenin and many more were drastically altered . The ten-plus inches of rain that fell in many of these areas turned small streams into raging torrents . The damage in these places is incredible .
Our hearts especially go out to those who lost loved ones in the flooding . Nothing can ever make up for these losses .
The disaster response from people all over the state as well as across our country has been

Tide Beginning to Turn on EPA

phenomenal . Individuals and organizations have been extremely generous with their time and resources . Many people will need help for a considerable time to come .
West Virginia Farm Bureau is assessing what we can do to best help farmers affected by this tragedy . In the aftermath of previous floods , we have coordinated efforts to provide feed , fencing and more to those affected . We will do whatever we can this time as well . We also recommend farmers check with the USDA ’ s Farm Service Agency in Morgantown , which has a number of programs available for disaster assistance .
Weather events like this flood remind us how powerful the forces of nature remain , and how little control we humans really have .
Zippy Duvall , President , American Farm Bureau Federation
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are finally getting a much needed check on their runaway overreach . A unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court in May means farmers and ranchers can take the federal government to court immediately after an agency determines it can regulate part of their property .
This ruling--United States Army Corps of Engineers v . Hawkes--is among the most important court opinions we have seen . Along with other groups , including the National Cattlemen ' s Beef Association , AFBF was proud to contribute a friendof-the-court brief ; in support of the Hawkes family and the Pacific Legal Foundation .
4 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
Before this ruling , the Army Corps would tell farmers they had no right to challenge its decision that it had legal authority over what it had determined to be " navigable waters " on their land . Landowners would have to apply for a permit to work their land , or they could farm without a permit and wait for the government to sue them .
Either of the government ' s approaches could bankrupt many farmers . Just applying for a permit takes months or even years , piles of technical studies and many thousands of dollars in consultant and legal fees . Many permit applications die on the vine--neither rejected nor denied by the Corps , but abandoned by frustrated landowners after years of delay and requests for more data . It wasn ' t hard for the Justices to see the injustice and abuse in the government ' s approach . Justices Kennedy , Thomas and Alito did not mince words about the Clean Water Act , either . They warned it " continues to raise
see Duvall , page 18