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NCBA hammers away at EPA’s water rule

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is encouraging its members and all cattlemen to submit comments on the EPA’s “Waters of the U.S.” rule.

NCBA environmental counsel Ashley McDonald says, in the case of cattlemen, the impact of the rule will be significant.

“If you increase regulation by the federal government to include things like ditches, all ponds, any open water within a flood plain and a riparian area—if all those features are now jurisdictional, there are a lot more activities that we are going to need Section 404 dredge and fill permits for,” says McDonald.  “There are a lot more activities that you are going to need a 402 NPDES permit for—things like spraying pesticides and spraying herbicides.”

McDonald says even an activity like brush management may need a permit.

“Those permits—one, they’re not cheap, and two, they take a long time to get through the regulatory system,” she says. “So there’s going to be a lot more permits for cattle producers and there’s going to be a lot more costs and lot more delays in activities—routine activities that everybody has to get done.”

McDonald urges cattlemen to submit comments to the EPA by going to NCBA’s web site, beefusa.org.

McDonald’s comments came in an interview with Brownfield at the start of the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver.

AUDIO: Ashley McDonald (5:28 MP3)

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