OPINION

“Continual revisions, remands and reintroductions of WOTUS” — the Waters of the U.S. rule — “...only sow confusion and ultimately dissuade future investment in climate-smart agriculture,” Duvall lectured Biden without one hint of AFBF’s large role in all the revising, remanding and reintroducing.

Duvall ended by covering his zesty spice cake with layers of lily-white farm group frosting: “America’s farmers and ranchers need a clear, consistent WOTUS rule so they can continue to protect our natural resources, operate with certainty, and create jobs in their communities.”

Exactly, but what he failed to acknowledge is that since Congress won’t write a workable WOTUS rule, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency have written multiple versions only to see their efforts to enact this key element of the 1972 Clean Water Act languish in federal courts for decades.

That’s right; in the 51 years since the Clean Water Act passed, neither Congress nor the courts have successfully defined what “waters of the U.S.” — or WOTUS — fall under the Act’s jurisdiction. Attempt after attempt has been shot down by either political, legal, or economic forces aligned against it.

The latest attempted sinking occurred March 29 when the U.S. Senate passed a “joint resolution of disapproval” (by a 53-43 vote) to reject another WOTUS version — this one just two months old. The U.S. House approved the “disapproval resolution” March 9.

The Biden Administration vowed to veto the Congressional action and since neither legislative chamber has the votes to override it, the Biden WOTUS version will stand (for the time being).

Still, the vote showcases just how hard compromise is with any WOTUS rule. In fact, according to the National Association of Counties, the Biden rule is a joint Corps/EPA effort “to walk the line between the Obama administration’s expansive Clean Water Rule and the Trump administration’s more narrow 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule.”

But even that middle ground is political quick- sand, said Congress, which means more federal civil lawsuits and more years of more dirty water.

In fact, WOTUS is the focal point of three active federal lawsuits now, according Brigit Rollins, a staff attorney with the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas.

All, she explains in a recent online webinar, raise constitutional issues which could either empower the EPA and Corps to finally fully implement the Clean Water Act under the Biden rule or, depending on the case, limit or even strip all federal agencies of the power to enforce any part of WOTUS and the Clean Water Act.

On March 19, one day before the Biden rule was to go into effect, a Texas federal judge issued a pre-

Sc haf er Here f ords Online Sale

April 18, 2023 on Closes at 7 p.m. CDT

LJS MARK DOMINO 2207 {DLF,HYF,IEF,MSUDF}

P44344458 — Calved: 3/18/2022 — Tattoo: LE 2207

Sire: LJS MARK DOMINO 2012 {DLF,HYF,IEF,MSUDF}

Dam: LJS MS MARK DOMINO 2029 {DLF,HYF,IEF,MSUDF}

CE 7.4; BW 3.3; WW 60; YW 97; DMI 0.9; SC 1.4; SCF 10.6; MM 43; M&G 74; MCE 9.6; MCW 58; UDDR 1.60; TEAT 1.70; CW 82; FAT 0.070; REA 0.82; MARB 0.50; BMI$ 291; BII$ 388; CHB$ 154

BW 99 lb., WW 795 lb., scurred.

• Big time growth, maternal and carcass here. He’s the first calf for both parents and sets the bar high. His pedigree is a cross of two of our strongest cow families.

LJS MARK DOMINO 2213 {DLF,HYF,IEF,MSUDF}

P44344467 — Calved: 3/22/2022 — Tattoo: LE 2213

Sire: LJS MARK DOMINO 1954 {CHB}{DLF,HYF,IEF,MSUDF}

LJS MARK DOMINO 2216

44344473 — Calved: 3/23/2022 — Tattoo: LE 2216

Sire: LJS MARK DOMINO 1954 {CHB}{DLF,HYF,IEF,MSUDF}

Dam: LJS MS MARK DOMINO 1508 {DLF,HYF,IEF}

CE 7.8; BW 1.9; WW 48; YW 81; DMI 0.4; SC 1.1; SCF 8.0; MM 37; M&G 61; MCE 8.2; MCW 60; UDDR 1.50; TEAT 1.40; CW 76; FAT 0.010; REA 0.63; MARB 0.37; BMI$ 248; BII$ 323; CHB$ 148

• BW 83 lb., WW 765 lb., dehorned.

Another 1954 son from an elite 0945 daughter that never misses. We’re getting our first calves from her 2021 bull calf.

Powerful performance cattle backed by over 60 years of performance testing and rigid culling for economically important traits. Complete performance records including weights, ultrasound carcass data, and genomically enhanced EPDs will be available on the Hereford on Demand website.