Just what is a “Water of the U.S.”?
Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill has reviewed a proposed 370-page rule that redefines the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) jurisdiction over water. Now, looking around his farm, he has more questions than answers.
Branstad, Iowa Officials Blast EPA's Water Rule
By Dirck Steimel
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and other Iowa officials called on EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw its proposed “Waters of the U.S.” rule. Read more.
2 maps that will raise your eyebrows
By Zach Bader
What if I told you the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sees “ephemeral” or “intermittent” streams or “hydric” soils in your backyard that could require you to obtain a federal permit (costing tens of thousands of dollars)? Read more.
Dear EPA: Does my backyard belong to you?
By Zach Bader
When my wife and I bought our home a couple years ago, we envisioned a backyard for kids and dogs – a fence, a swing set, and a nice lawn. A new proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has me looking at our yard differently. Read more.
Farm Bureau decodes water rule, asks EPA to rescind
By American Farm Bureau
The American Farm Bureau Federation has released to Congress a comprehensive document that responds, point by point, to numerous inaccurate and misleading comments made about the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest clean water rule. Nancy Stoner, EPA acting assistant administrator for water, made the statements in a recent agency blog post. Read more.
Could farming in western Iowa require a permit?
By Zach Bader
Western Iowa received two to three times its normal rainfall in June. A rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could fine our neighbors for their misfortune.
Read more.
Rule is Threat To Conservation Momentum
By Dirck Steimel
In my visits with farmers, I’ve been thoroughly impressed over the past
18 months by the number of Iowa farmers who are stepping up to reduce
soil loss and improve water quality using the techniques outlined in the
Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
Read more.
Water rule would chill Iowa conservation progress
By Dirck Steimel
Iowa farmers’ efforts to install terraces, buffer strips and other
conservation structures would be jeopardized by a maze of bureaucratic
red tape if the federal government implements its proposed water rule, a
veteran water quality official said last week.
Read more.
Rule may make each puddle a regulated water
By Dirck Steimel
Maybe I shouldn’t admit to this, but I may
have a navigable water right in my front yard. It’s a wet spot that
appears in the lawn after every heavy rain and hangs around for a few
hours.
Read more.
Water rule is really about control of land
By Dirck Steimel
It’s called the water rule, but the controversial proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is really all about land and who gets to decide how it is managed — landowners or the federal bureaucrats. That’s why Farm Bureau members and others are working so hard to ditch it.
Read more.
Permitting delays holding up farmers’ conservation efforts
By Dirck Steimel
Bob Ausberger and his wife, Joyce, have
always worked to be good stewards of the land they farm in Greene County
near Jefferson.
Farming with their son, David,the Ausbergers have no-till farmed for 30 years, built terraces, planted cover crops and installed buffer strips to reduce soil loss and improve water quality. They have enrolled land in the Conservation Reserve Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program to help protect the environment. They have also worked with other farmers in their township to promote more community-wide conservation and water quality efforts. Read more.
Hill: Proposed water rule clear intrusion of property rights
By Dirck Steimel
Opposition is rising quickly to a proposed water rule that threatens to greatly expand the federal government’s regulatory authority over how farmers in Iowa and all over the country can manage their land.
Farmers, lawmakers and others are all pushing hard to stop the new rule, which was published in April by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Specifically, the rule would revise the definition of what is considered a "navigable water" or "water of the United States" that is subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Read more.
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