Concern over Clean Water Restoration Act

Farm and Ranch May 19, 2009 Farmers and Ranchers are worried about legislation that would take the term "navigable" out of the Clean Water Act, which would put even minor bodies of water under federal jurisdiction. Parrish: "We are all very protective of water quality. We understand and support the Clean Water Act, but this just appears to be an overreach." American Farm Bureau Regulatory Specialist Don Parrish who says the bill, called the Clean Water Restoration Act, would have broad implications for agriculture. Parrish: "The chances of all water being federal water is very real. It means the use of all water could be regulated at the federal level and that is very disturbing because clearly the use of clean water is pivotal in what farmers do to produce safer and abundant food." Parrish says that kind of federal control could make it difficult for states, counties and individual land owners to do work on their property. Parrish: "Should the federal government regulate features within states that don't normally have water in them? I'm talking about ditches or features that only have water during or shortly after rainfall." And Parrish adds: Parrish: "If these definitions reach into farm fields and onto the land of individual owners then we are talking about waters that are totally contained on an individual's property. Than is an extremely far regulatory reach and our members are extremely uncomfortable having EPA and the Corps regulate those type of waters." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.