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Nelson: WOTUS not good for Nebraska

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. rule is not good for Nebraska, according to Steve Nelson, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau.  The state manages its natural resources just fine without federal intervention, said Nelson.

“We believe that this is marginally a local issue and we’ve done a good and we just don’t think that having EPA come in like this is good for the state of Nebraska or for Nebraska agriculture,” he said, during a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

The biggest concern about WOTUS among farmers is that they don’t know the extent of the agency’s jurisdiction, said Nelson.

“There’s uncertainty related whether or not our land, our particular land or fields or areas are covered by the rule,” said Nelson.  “Do they have the features that would make them covered by the rule?”

The Nebraska Farm Bureau leads a coalition it calls Common Sense Nebraska, consisting of organizations that have come together in response to EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule.

The coalition’s purpose is to build awareness and understanding of the EPA proposal and the impacts it would have on Nebraskans.

AUDIO: Common Sense Nebraska conference call (29 min. MP3)