Farm Bureau members say water rule reversal will hurt family farms

by | Jan 7, 2022 | 5 Ag Stories, News

A recent WOTUS listening session gave American Farm Bureau members a chance to voice their concerns about the administration?s proposal to repeal and replace the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule.

The Small Business Administration hosted the public session Thursday, giving farmers and ranchers from across the country an opportunity to share how a return to WOTUS would impact their operations. Courtney Briggs is the American Farm Bureau?s senior congressional relations director. She says it?s vital that agriculture gets to share its side of the story.

?Unfortunately, the agency certified that this rule would have zero impact on small businesses. And in reality, there’s nothing that could be further from the truth. So, this is an opportunity for folks to give real world examples and hear straight from the horse’s mouth from small businesses on how this will affect their businesses.?

Briggs says members of the American Farm Bureau explained to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency that the newly proposed water rule would be detrimental to their businesses.

?They were able to tell the firsthand experiences that they?ve had going through the permitting process and dealing with the Army Corps. We even had a member who participated from his farm field and was standing in a dry ephemeral feature that would be subject to jurisdiction under this proposed new WOTUS definition.?

Briggs talks about how farms need stability when it comes to waters of the U.S.

?We hope that they were listening and that they will slow down the regulatory process and recognize the impacts that this rule will have on small businesses. At this stage, this is just a proposed rule. So, changes need to be made in order to make sure that small businesses are protected. So, we hope that that message got through to the agencies and that they will act accordingly.?

The American Farm Bureau applauded the Small Business Administration for scheduling roundtables to hear from families who will be directly affected by a change in water regulations.