MARCH 20-26, 2023 SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 11 NNEEWSS AGRIBUSINESS Waters of the US by Karen Craigo · kcraigo@sbj.net At the end of 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army issued new rules to define the waters of the United States, aka WOTUS. The EPA’s Dec. 30 statement reads, “The final rule restores essential water protections that were in place prior to 2015 under the Clean Water Act for traditional navigable waters, the territorial seas, interstate waters as well as upstream water resources that significantly affect those waters. As a result, this action will strengthen fundamental protections for waters that are sources of drinking water while supporting agriculture, local economies and downstream communities.” The ruling, which expanded the WOTUS definition, determines how agencies identify bodies of water that are protected under the federal Clean Water Act. While the EPA announcement paints the WOTUS definition as a step forward, the Missouri Farm Bureau, led by President Garrett Hawkins, views it as a problem. “If you were to sum it up in one word, uncertainty – regulatory uncertainty, to be more specific,” Hawkins said. To unpack his point, Hawkins refers to the origin of the Clean Water Act, which was established in 1972. “It was put in place by Congress because there were large water bodies that were catching on fire and were polluted,” he said. “That’s the image that’s conjured up in people’s minds.” Indeed, in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969, the Cuyahoga River, perpetually covered in oil slicks, caught fire and drew national media attention. The EPA was quickly established by a vote of Congress within half a year, in January 1970; the first Earth Day followed in April. At the time the Clean Water Act was penned, it specified that it protected navigable waters, which are just what they sound like: waterways someone could steer a boat down. These were referred to as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” Farmers didn’t have a problem with federal laws to keep navigable waters clean, Hawkins said, but regulation has since moved past recognizable lakes and rivers. “We’ve had somewhat of a regulatory ping-pong match through the decades that became heightened during the Obama administration as a result of a string of federal court cases,” Hawkins said. “Ultimately, the Obama administration decided it was going to go in and draw bright lines. “Unfortunately, the bright lines drawn by the administration would have thrown over 99% of Missouri as a state under federal jurisdiction. That was the case with many states.” The revised rule by the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers states that water moves in hydrologic cycles, and discharge of pollutants must be controlled at the source. The new WOTUS definition includes intermittent streams, mudflats, wetlands and wet meadows. The definition is broad, the rule states, and the term “navigable” in the original act is of limited importance. The new rule is extremely detailed, but it clarifies the Clean Water Act’s objective: to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.” Local control Hawkins and the Farm Bureau maintain state land should be under state or local control. During the Trump administration, Hawkins said, clear definitions HEATHER MOSLEY Garrett Hawkins: The latest federal rules on waterways create uncertainty for farmers. REGULATED WATERS? Trent Drake, president of the Polk County Farm Bureau, stands in a field where running water poses a problem. Under the latest EPA definition, it may be a federally regulated water of the United States. Missouri Farm Bureau leads charge against EPA definition See WATERS on page 17
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