Agricultural News
NCBA Prepares for Long Litigation Fight to Stop WOTUS
Thu, 19 Nov 2015 14:37:39 CST
A court injunction has prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from implementing the "Waters of the U.S." (WOTUS) rule. The rule was set to take effect at the end of August. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association has tried to get a legislative fix for WOTUS, but it hasn't worked out. NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said they are now left to a solution through the courts.
"We tried to get Congress to act, to send this rule back to EPA," Woodall said. "The House did their job, the Senate failed to their job. So, really Congress is out of the equation."
Congress could address the rule with some defunding language. Woodall said that's a short-term fix to prevent EPA from doing any enforcement, but that doesn't fix the problem. He said ultimately it will be up to the courts to send this rule back to EPA.
"That's a five to six year process and our concern is how many producers will be caught in this before we can actually get the final court decision," Woodall said.
In October, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judges issued a temporary nationwide stay preventing implementation of WOTUS in all 50 states. Woodall looks for the stay to remain in place until the various district courts begin holding hearings for the WOTUS cases. That could last a year or it could be shorter than that. Woodall said the nationwide stay is defiantly just a short-term protection.
Several of the courts have made statements on these pending WOTUS cases. For example, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judges and their ruling suggested that EPA might lose on the merits of this case in the court system. Woodall said that's a three judge panel and two of the judges have said the plaintiffs could win this case, but that won't be enough as EPA will force an appeal. He said ultimately this case will go before the U.S. Supreme Court. That's why it will likely take five to six years to get that final decision.
NCBA, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, National Pork Producers Council and other farm groups sent a letter to 11 Democratic Senators asking them to reconsider their position on Senate Bill 1140. That bill would send WOTUS back to EPA for them to start over.
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays caught up with Woodall at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in Kansas City, Missouri last week. Click or tap on the LISTEN BAR below to listen to the interview.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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