November 13, 2013
www.gfb.org
Vol. 31 No. 46f
GFB SUBMITS COMMENTS ON EPA STREAM CONNECTIVITY REPORT In a Nov. 6 letter to the EPA, Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall expressed concerns over a draft report the agency intends to use as basis for revising the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The report, Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence, has been forwarded to the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) for review. The SAB is scheduled to meet Dec. 1618 in Washington, D.C. Duvall noted that farmers engage in activities on land and water that sometimes require permits, and changes in Clean Water Act regulations could result in additional costs and regulatory burdens in order to carry out common farm activities. Because of this, the means used to develop EPA rules is of particular interest to GFB members who are farmers. Duvall wrote that the report appears to be driven by policy considerations rather than science and runs counter to both the Clean Water Act and the applicable ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, Rapanos v. United States. In the Rapanos case, the Court ruled that the EPA can only regulate waters that have a “significant nexus” (connection) to federally regulated waters. The connectivity report contends that all connections, no matter the kind, size or frequency, meet the “significant nexus” threshold. Duvall said that the report makes no scientific explanation of how there is a connection between ditches, gullies, swales and erosion channels and regulated waters or whether the connection is “significant.” “Farm ditches are a part of farming,” Duvall said. “Any attempt by EPA to expand federal control over these waters will be strongly opposed by our organization and its members. Regulatory authority over these waters is properly enforced by the state and we believe the Supreme Court has been clear on this point. To expand federal authority through this report is contrary to the Rapanos decision and is unjustified.” Duvall also took issue with the manner in which the EPA pushed the report toward use as a basis for regulation under the CWA, noting that before the SAB had an opportunity to review the science in the report, the EPA sent a proposed rule based on the report to the Office of Management and Budget for review. Duvall requested that the EPA withdraw the proposed rule from the OMB and allow the SAB to complete its review before submitting proposed rules based on the report’s conclusions.