April 9, 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 14
EPA PROPOSED WATER RULE KEY ISSUE ON PRESIDENTS’ TRIP TO D.C. Georgia Farm Bureau county presidents voiced their concerns to their congressmen over a recent EPA proposed rule on the definition of “waters of the U.S.” in the Clean Water Act (CWA) during a trip to Washington, D.C., April 1-4. The concerns were two-fold. First, the proposed rule would expand EPA’s authority to virtually any drop of water that flows into a navigable stream, circumventing the intent of Congress in the wording of the CWA. Second, the 370-page proposed rule, which has yet to be published in the Federal Register, provided a 90-day comment period during the height of spring planting, one of the busiest times of the year for farmers. “We keep getting told that there are safety valves in there for agriculture,” said GFB President Zippy Duvall. “We don’t agree with that. They are very much restricting the way we can use our land. We’ve got to make sure they write rules and regulations that deal with the words in the law.” Parrish A group of 110 county members made the trip. During a breakfast meeting on April 2, GFB members heard issue updates from American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) staff members, including Senior Director of Regulatory Relations Don Parrish, who urged GFB members to push for extending the comment period to 180 days. “The EPA, and I think the USDA is complicit in this, is trying to do an end-around on the Clean Water Act,” Parrish said. GFB members visited the offices of all 14 members of the Georgia House Delegation on April 2, carrying messages on the water issue, immigration, livestock research and funding for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. During a breakfast meeting on April 3 they heard remarks from Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson and Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden, who is coordinating implementation of the 2014 farm bill. Harden said enrollment in livestock disaster programs should start by April 15, and details on cotton transition payments will come out this fall. She encouraged farmers and ranchers to consider enrolling in farm bill conservation programs. “I know that farmers are the first stewards and best stewards of the land,” Harden said. “There is more spending in the conservation title than there is in Title I [the commodity title].” AFBF Director of Public Policy Dale Moore talked about a variety of issues, including advocacy for livestock research. “Research is critically important,” Moore said. “If we have a sniffly chicken in California, [Athens] is where we call to get answers about it.”