Press Releases

(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. (IN-08) released the following statement after the Trump Administration’s release of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule which will clarify the cumbersome Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule:

“Hoosier farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our state’s economy. Today’s clarification that their farm ditches will no longer be regulated by the federal government as navigable waters is a commonsense change that provides ag producers certainty and ensures a proper balance exists between the federal government  and a state’s rights to protect their own water resources. The new rule removes confusion and uncertainty about where federal jurisdiction ends and where state authority begins. I applaud the Trump Administration for keeping yet another promise they made to the American people.”

Background

The Navigable Waters Protection Rule identifies four clear categories of waters that are federal regulated:

·       The territorial seas and traditional navigable waters;

·       Perennial and intermittent tributaries to those waters;

·       Certain lakes, ponds, and impoundments; and

·       Wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters.

Additionally, the final rule identifies clarifies that “Waters of the United States” are not features that only contain water in direct response to rainfall, groundwater, ditches, including most roadside and farm ditches, farm and stock watering ponds, waste treatment systems, and prior converted cropland.