05/29/07 IWUA critical of Clean Water revision bill

A bill just introduced in Congress to revise the Clean Water Act has the Idaho Water Users Association very concerned. The Clean Water Authority Restoration Act would expand the federal government control in areas of water use that is totally inappropriate in IWUA's opinion. Executive director Norm Semanko was in Washington DC last week lobbying the Idaho congressional delegation to unite against what he calls an 'off the chart federal grab for power.' American Farm Bureau's Don Parrish agrees. PARRISH "What this legislation does is shift away from what is important to protect the quality of the nation's waters into regulating land use activities and the activities that farmers and ranchers need to conduct every day to grow food and fiber." Parrish says this bill could let Uncle Sam regulate the water all the way down to a backyard goldfish pond. PARRISH "It vastly expands the areas that would become federally regulated. It also vastly expands the activities that would be regulated in a very ambiguous way." The bill puts these water issues right into the courts and that could unleash a torrent of lawsuits and conflicts. Semanko and Parrish both say that's about as counterproductive as you can make it. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott