Another Fight

Another Battle. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Last year when my wife and I went to England we did some research into the history of the kings and queens and were struck by the fact that there were really very few times where it was just smooth sailing. I’m starting to feel that way about things on Capital Hill. The next big fight between agriculture and the Obama Administration after the Labor Department dropped proposed child farm labor rules is with EPA over water. It’s not a new fight - but one that gained new attention last week after ag won the child farm labor fight - and ag and transportation lawmakers introduced H.R. 4965. American Farm Bureau’s Don Parish says the bill to stop an Obama EPA bid to end-run Congress and give itself unprecedented power to regulate waters has support from both sides of the aisle.

PARRISH: Very bi-partisan and we think a really strong statement that the administration should be finalize a guide as document that it goes against what Congress intends.

Using quasi-rulemaking procedures instead of formal transparent rulemaking to impose de facto federal rules that cover even sometimes-wet-areas…

PARRISH: I have a hard time calling these features water bodies but they’re things that may contain water after it rains and that’s the only time that they have water in them. It is very broad and it definitely increases the regulatory foot print of the agency.

Over everything from farm ponds, to holding tanks and runoff ditches - increasing costs and regulatory burdens. But the Senate is more EPA-friendly. Environment Chair Barbara Boxer tried unsuccessfully to legislate increased EPA authority over non-navigable U.S. waters - leading to the regulatory guidance the White House is now reviewing. Parish talks about the Senate prospects to stop the de facto rulemaking.

PARRISH: We hope that a strong bi-partisan push on the House side will indicate that there is some real problems with what the agency is doing and we hope that it will attract very strong bi-partisan effort into a process that’s already underway in the Senate.

Ranking Environment member James Inhofe and other Senators have introduced companion legislation to the House bill. Parish hopes the effort gains momentum coming off the Administration’s dropping the proposed child farm labor rule last week.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.