The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Last week, President Biden turned his back on agricultural producers, small business owners, and anyone who wants to have authority over their own property by vetoing a bipartisan, bicameral effort to stop the Biden Administration’s proposed “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule under the guise of protecting clean water. What this administration fails to realize is that the federal government already sets stringent national health-based standards for drinking water and no WOTUS rule would weaken these requirements. Rather, WOTUS only restricts what folks can or can’t do with their own land.

The WOTUS rule is responsible for determining which waters are subject to federal regulations under the Clean Water Act. During the Obama Administration, a definition was introduced which granted federal bureaucrats the authority to impose regulations on any water body they deemed appropriate, be it a lake, river, stream—or even a puddle. So, any time someone wanted to make a change to their property, from rotating crops to building a fence, they had to apply for a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. I don’t think I need to tell anyone how costly and time-consuming that process can be, especially for small business owners who don’t have the time or money to hire expensive attorneys and environmental consultants—just to manage their own property.

In 2020, the WOTUS definition was revised to restore balance between federal and state authority under the Clean Water Act, and give our nation’s farmers and small business owners the certainty they needed to do their jobs, without interference from the federal government. Yet as soon as President Biden took office, his administration repealed this revision and put forth another restrictive WOTUS rule, in line with the one put forth under the Obama Administration. To make matters worse, the decision to release a new definition disregards a pending Supreme Court ruling on whether the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have overstepped their legal boundaries in the first place! Continuing to promulgate contrasting definitions is only making it harder for our nation’s producers to farm, ranch, or build in this country.

It’s rare for the House and the Senate to act in coordination these days—especially in a bipartisan manner. It should tell you just how egregious this WOTUS rule is that the House and the Senate passed a bipartisan measure to prevent the rule from being implemented. For President Biden to ignore the will of the people so he can continue to infringe on the property rights of Americans across the nation is a step too far. Rural communities like mine in Central Washington have consistently demonstrated their commitment to preserving clean water and should not have to suffer the consequences of ongoing and burdensome regulations caused by this new rule.

This veto puts the livelihoods of agricultural producers and small business owners at risk, which is unconscionable when they are already struggling due to high inflation and a crippled economy. Rather than impeding their progress, we should be empowering our people to innovate and flourish.

As a third-generation hop and wine grape farmer, I recognize the significance of having authority over our private property. Preserving the environment has always been a top priority for me and my neighbors, and our agricultural community has shown the same dedication. Over the years, our producers have voluntarily innovated, finding new ways to use significantly less pesticides and fertilizers to grow even more food. When our agricultural producers have not given us any reason to question their capability to safeguard our country’s water, why then, must we penalize them with additional bureaucratic red tape? They should not have to ask the government’s permission each time they want to put up a fence, plant around streams on their own property, or rotate their crops.

President Biden’s veto is a step back, but it will not deter me from advocating for rural America and putting an end to this outrageous government overreach. As long as I remain in Congress, I will continue to fight for our policy needs and dutifully represent our agricultural producers. America is supposed to be the land of the free, not the land of egregious government overreach.