WV Farm Bureau Magazine May 2015 | Page 4

PRESIDENTIAL PARADIGMS Farmers and Ranchers are Tired of EPA Doubletalk Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation Business owners around the country have joined with farmers and ranchers in speaking out on the Waters of the U.S. rule. More than 30 states also oppose the rule. Yet, even in the face of mounting opposition, the EPA still isn’t listening. and Northern Plains. By pooling these isolated features together, the Waters of the U.S. rule would let the agencies treat them as a “significant nexus” to streams and rivers – an idea that’s simply not supported by law or common sense. Together, the prairie potholes in a region could be treated just like a large body of water, even though the end result would be more control over land, not water – something that Congress never intended. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has unveiled Rather than recognizing the careful stewardship her latest, campaign-style WOTUS spin, calling that farmers and ranchers practice, EPA keeps the effort the “Clean forcing farmers and Water Rule” – as ranchers back on the though a bumper-sticker defensive. McCarthy approach to a complex said farmers s