The EPA’s proposal to regulate everyday farming practices isn’t just impractical; it’s illegal, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman told the House Subcommittee on Water Re­­sources and En­­vironment last week.

"The EPA ‘Waters of the U.S.’ proposal broadly ex­­pands federal jurisdiction," Stallman said. "It threatens local land-use and zoning authority and is an end-run around Congress and the Supreme Court."

The proposal, published last April in the Federal Register, would categorically regulate as "navigable waters" countless ephemeral...