The National Pork Producers Council is happy with the EPA’s decision to finalize a repeal of the Waters of the United States rule, which defined the scope of federal water protection in a more consistent manner, particularly over steams and wetlands.
The rule gave the EPA broad jurisdiction over the nation’s waterways, which impacted farmers. The NPPC has opposed the rule because it was “overly broad and had significant technical flaws, including the process that EPA used to develop the rule, which violated basic due process and long-standing procedural protections.”
“We’re pleased the EPA is moving towards a common sense WOTUS rule that works with, not against, farmers to protect our nation’s waterways,” said NPPC President David Herring. “Today’s action will remove the threat that the 2015 WOTUS rule posed for our ability to efficiently grow the amount of food needed by people around the globe, while providing regulatory certainty to our farmers and businesses. We look forward to working with this administration to finally implement a new WOTUS rule.”
The WOTUS rule began under President Obama in August of 2015. Pork producers were not the only ones who were happy with the decision, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association also released a statement supporting the repeal.