Young Farmer and Rancher Update
S
Susan Wilkins, YF&R Chairperson
Wilki
Ch i
I have said many times
that young farmers need to
do more to make our voices
heard. Right now, farmers
of ALL ages need to make
their voices heard and tell
the Environmental Protection
Agency to #DitchTheRule.
Hopefully you read the special edition to last
month’s magazine and already know about the
EPA’s proposed new ruling on expanding the
Clean Water Act. Maybe you even submitted
some comments on the ruling. But if you did not
submit comments, you need to NOW and I am
going to tell you why you need to do this and how.
The new ruling is meant to clarify what is
defined as “waters of the US” under the Clean
Water Act. But what the ruling actually does is
give the EPA the authority to regulate any land
where water might run across or collect – even
if it is only for a few hours out of an entire year.
For example, that low spot in your corn field;
your backyard garden; the ditch beside your
driveway; maybe even the potholes in your farm
road. Virtually any spot where water flows or
collects would be under the EPA’s authority and
considered navigable water.
“So what?” you might say, “Who cares if it
is navigable in their definition?” Well, because
of that low spot in your corn field where water
collects, you will be required to obtain a permit
to do the most basic things in that field – such as
plowing, applying fertilizer, spraying weeds, even
building fences. Applying for a permit means
paperwork, fees, and farming time lost due to
waiting for approval.
The EPA has no right to make its own laws –
the Congress of the United States writes our laws.
When the Clean Water Act was created, it limited
federal regulatory power to “navigable waters.”
Congress did not give the EPA permission to
regulate land just because rain water might
18 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
occasionally run across it. But the EPA has
decided they want more and so with this new
rule they are proposing the most far reaching
regulations ever seen from the agency.
Here is what you need to do – you need to
stand up and tell the EPA that this is a bad idea.
The proposed changes are open to public comment
until July 21st. An incredibly fast and easy way
to make comments is to visit the website: http://
www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=EPAHQ-OW-2011-0880-0001 or the FBAct
Insider page at: http://capwiz.com/afb/issues/
alert/?alertid=63192396.
If you prefer to mail a paper letter, you should
send the original and three copies to: Water
Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail
Code 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20460, Attention: Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0880.
Tell the EPA to #DitchTheRule and tell them
why. Tell them that the water running across
your cornfield after a spring rain cannot hold a
boat and is not navigable. Tell them that they
are overreaching on the rights of Americans.
Tell them that this new rule will hurt our local
economies and cripple the agriculture industry.
Please make your voice heard and encourage
your family, friends, and neighbors to do the same.
REMINDER:
FARM USE EVALUATIONS
DUE
SEPTEMBER 1