More EPA Fallout

The EPA's finalized Clean Water Rule formerly known as the Waters of the U.S. rule has bitten deep into the bread basket of the U.S. There are a lot of questions that the ambiguous wording of the rule are creating and a lot of people and groups who are speaking out against it. U.S. Representative Greg Walden from Oregon released an OP-ED that doesn't mince words. Walden says quote: "With the stroke of a pen, the administration has pushed aside the "navigable waters" limitations of the Clean Water Act, leaving in its wake vague definitions that potentially open up intermittent streams, vernal pools, irrigation ditches, or ponds to even more federal regulations." Unquote.

On the other side of the coin, EPA's Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPAs Office of Water, Ken Kopocis says their move was about clarifying the rule.

KOPOCIS: The Clean Water Rule is not about expanding the scope of waters that are subject to its jurisdiction but making sure that we correctly capture those waters that need to be protected from pollution or destruction. This rule protects water sources without getting in the way of farming and ranching and forestry. We're focusing on streams and not ditches. This was critically important to the agricultural community and the rule limits protection to ditches that are constructed out of streams or that function like streams and carry pollution downstream.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.