Farmers aren’t the only group concerned by a proposal to greatly expand federal regulatory reach over land and bodies of water deemed "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS).

The WOTUS rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would also have grave impacts on the construction industry, Home Builders Association of Iowa President Drew Retz said last week at the Iowa Farm Bureau annual meeting in Des Moines.

The uncertainty created by the rule will increase construction delays, raise costs and make more land off limits to development while providing few benefits to water quality, Retz said.

"Those issues you talk...