waters and lands — taken together — could, perhaps,
impact interstate navigable waters.
As you know, most farms have ditches, ponds and
streams. That means that, if this rule is finalized and
enforced, farmers may soon find themselves faced
with a federal government bureaucrat showing up
on their doorstep and requiring them to obtain costly
federal permits. Failure to obtain and comply with
these federal permits could lead to massive federal
fines and even criminal penalties.
Help Us
Fight EPA’s
Water
Power
Grab
Attorney General
Patrick Morrisey
Everywhere I travel across the State of West
Virginia, I hear deep concerns from farmers and many
other people about the Environmental Protection
Agency’s proposed Waters of the United States rule.
Last October, I submitted a comment letter on
behalf of nine other States and six Governors,
explaining that the proposed rule is illegal. The letter
noted that the rule violates several decisions from the
U.S. Supreme Court on the scope of EPA’s and the
Corps’ authority, infringes upon States’ rights, and
harms farmers and individual homeowners.
All indications are that EPA and the Corps have
ignored our warnings, as well as the conclusions
of legal experts from across the political spectrum,
and are planning to push forward with this rule. In
fact, EPA has said that it plans to finalize and start
enforcing the rule later this spring.
All hope is not lost. We can still stop this
overreach, but only with your help. We are building
a coalition in West Virginia and across the country to
fight this rule on all fronts: in the press, in Congress,
and in the courts. To help with our efforts, we need
farmers whose farms are impacted by this illegal
power grab to step up and make their voices heard.
Later this spring, we will be hosting a series
of events throughout the State, where farmers
Yes, it is just as bad as you have heard. Congress
and other interested parties—from individual
has given to EPA and its sister agency, the U.S. Army
homeowners to consumers to business owners—will
Corps of Engineers, power to protect interstate,
discuss the impact of the rule on their farms, their
navigable waters: think major bodies of waters like the businesses, and their lives. If you would like to
Mississippi River or the Ohio River. These agencies
take part in these discussions, please contact our
now seek more authority over our water, even in
Office at 304-558-2021, so that we can let you know
situations where water is only present on rare occasion. when an event is coming to location near you. We
The EPA and Corps assert that they have the power to
will also be posting meeting times and dates on the
control minor ditches, ponds, streams, and even large
Attorney General’s website.
swaths of sometimes dry land, on the theory that these
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 17