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EPA Administrator says new water rule to provide clarity to America’s farmers

The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency says they’re working on a water rule that will stand the test of time.  

EPA’s Michael Regan says the upcoming clean water rule will provide clarity and certainty for America’s farmers and ranchers.  “Normal farming, silviculture, and ranching practices, as defined by the Clean Water Act Section 404, that could take place in a jurisdictional waterway or wetland, will not require a permit,” he says.  

Regan told NASDA members during his remarks on Monday that they would not be reinstating the Navigable Waters Protection Rule OR the 2015 Clean Water Rule.  

And he says the agency is taking into consideration all the comments from their recent listening sessions.  “We’ll learn the lessons of the past,” he says.  “And charge forward with a durable rule that provides certainty, that doesn’t overburden or penalize a small farmer while protecting water quality.”

AUDIO: EPA Administrator Michael Regan

American Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall says if that’s the rule that’s delivered.  “That’s exactly what we’re looking for,” he says.  “We need the clarity and we need it durable because we feel like a ping pong going back and forth between both sides of the table.  How do you put a long plan together for your farm or your business and not know what the Waters of the US rule is going to be?”

AUDIO: Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall

Regan says they hope to have an interim rule in place sometime in November.

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