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Donnelly expresses farmers frustrations over WOTUS
As the debate over the Waters of the US continues, Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly expressed frustration over burdensome regulations during a hearing earlier today.
Donnelly questions where the regulations will end. “Our farmers feel they work non-stop every single day to voluntarily to make our waters cleaner and to make things better,” he says. “All we hear is more government regulation. I think what’s happened is those actions have lost the confidence of our ag community.”
During the hearing, Donnelly told Natural Resources Conservation Services Chief Jason Weller that farmers are frustrated. “It’s the feeling our farmers have when they look up and go ‘my government is supposed to be my partner, not my adversary’,” he says.
Weller says he hears the frustration, too, in his home state of California. “Farmers there, more than anywhere, are actually very heavily regulated,” he says. “Whether it is for air, for wildlife, or for water. I understand both the palpable frustration and the bottom line business costs that regulation creates. It’s also the perception elsewhere in the country.”
Donnelly says the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the NRCS need to work more effectively with the agricultural community to fix WOTUS without burdensome regulations.
Senator Donnelly and NRCS Chief Jason Weller testimony
Tags: Environmental Issues, EPA, Indiana, NRCS, Senator Donnelly, WOTUS
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Well said Laurie ! I agreed 1000% ! Come on Joe us citizens want clean water and clean food that regulations force the big boys to comply with. Please Support Non GMO’d & Non Factory Farmed Foods . Support Our Smaller Farms ! Not these Giant Polluting Mono cultured factories.
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I agree with Laurie McGowan’s comment. The answer should be based on data and err on the side of human safety, not just farmer frustration and personal cost. From the hardship, I believe, safer methods will grow.
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Joe, when did you become a Republican? The waters belong to everyone, not just farmers. Protecting them is not just their voluntary act, it’s a REQUIRED DUTY for the safety of all of the citizens. Unfortunately, regulations are necessary. You see what “farmers” (read CAFO operators) did in Ohio to the rivers. And they are doing the same now in Indiana. REGULATIONS NEEDED!
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It would be nice if Senator Donnelly would acknowledge that our government must make every effort to protect the air and water of our country. There is no economic growth or future in a country that has polluted it’s natural resources. The operators of factory farms must be held accountable for the damage their operations do to our water supply.
As a fellow Hoosier, I am also frustrated with the level of water contamination resulting from ag runoff in this state. Please let’s look at numbers and real outcomes and work toward solutions that serve ALL of us. It is disappointing that our senator chooses only to express the concerns of those who have a large financial interest in maintaining the status quo.