September 27, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn (RFD-TV) RFD-TV’s “Market Day Report” hosts a weekly interview with Roger McEowen, Professor of Agricultural Law and Taxation at the Washburn University School of Law, and an affiliate with the Kansas Farm Bureau.
The topic of this week’s interview: In early, 2017, the Trump Administration indicated its intent to review, revise or rescind the “Clean Water Rule.” Various exemptions can potentially apply to exclude “wetlands” from the federal government’s jurisdiction under the clean water act. One of those is for prior converted cropland.
Roger weighs in to discuss the history of regulations and current exemptions for draining wetlands for agricultural use and abandoning them. Exemptions for those who have drained wetlands prior to this 1985 cut-off date are also in debate. The EPA and the United States Army Corps of Engineers implemented policies similar to the USDA.
Currently, wetland regulations are encompassed in the “Clean Water Rule.” What have the courts had to say about it? Is there a better way for the federal government to regulate prior converted cropland than the present manner? Roger also discusses current court cases that are impacted by these decisions.
Professor McEowen gives his answers to these and other questions in the video above, and further information on this and many other topics is available on his blog.
