Agricultural News
American Farm Bureau Federation and Many Others Urging Support of Clean Water Act
Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:38:09 CDT
The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging support for the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R. 2018), a bipartisan bill that restores the balance between the states and the Environmental Protection Agency in regard to regulating the nation's waters. The bill was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 22.
In a letter this week, AFBF joined a coalition of 121 organizations representing a broad cross-section of the economy, in support of the bill, which is up for consideration later this week. The bill would reaffirm the decades-old, state-federal relationship set out in the Clean Water Act by addressing the EPA's ongoing regulatory overreach, the group told House leaders in a letter.
"H.R. 2018 has important job creation, economic security and federalism implications," the groups wrote, adding that over the years, EPA has repeatedly challenged states' authority and expertise under the CWA.
Further, the groups noted that EPA has asserted its control as the sole arbiter of evolving CWA permitting requirements and standards, jeopardizing more than $220 billion of annual economic activity.
The proposed legislation would help put people back to work and create new jobs by restoring the proper balance between EPA and the states in regulating the nation's waters, protecting the CWA's system of cooperative federalism, and preventing EPA from second-guessing or delaying a state's CWA permitting and water quality certification decisions, the groups stated.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...