Waters of the U.S.

Amid growing concerns over the EPA’s latest “waters of the U.S.”, the American Farm Bureau filed suit, arguing the new WOTUS rule creates confusing standards for “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act that can impact routine farming.

“During the first three quarters of 2022, U.S. beef exports to Korea, Japan, China/Hong Kong, and Taiwan, were a record $6.6 billion,” a a 22% increase.

**The Trump administration’s effort to write new “waters of the U.S.” regulations took a big step forward last week with publication of a proposed rule to withdraw the Obama administration’s 2015 rule. The proposal has been held up for a month due to issues with the formatting of the document...

**House appropriators are rejecting President Trump’s proposals to slash spending on rural development, international food aid, research and other key areas of the Agriculture Department’s fiscal 2018 budget. But a draft appropriations bill would still require cuts in some programs, providing a total of $20 billion to the USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and the Commodity Futures Trading Com

**The EPA will write a new definition of “waters of the U.S.” rules that is less expansive than the Obama administration’s rule that the agency is withdrawing. That was the word from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Thursday in an exclusive Agri-Pulse interview...

A bill slashing Environmental Protection Agency funding and blocking several of its new regulations is scheduled to pass through the House Appropriations Committee, this week. Republicans are pushing an Interior and Environment funding bill that cuts $718 million, or 9 percent, from the EPA’s budget in fiscal 2016, on top of the 20 percent cut the agency has absorbed since Republicans took the Hou

The U.S. House has sent a bill that would repeal Country of Origin Labeling on to the Senate. The bill passed the House 300-131 Wednesday night. House Ag Committee Chairman Mike Conaway told House members “repeal is the only viable option before us to avoid this retaliation...

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy feels her efforts to meet with farmers and ranchers and policymakers on the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule has been worth it. Agriculture owners believe the proposal means the EPA wants to regulate all ditches and the American Farm Bureau Federation has been calling on EPA to ditch the rule ... Read More ...