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NPPC says stayed WOTUS rule already causing problems

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) says a controversial rule caught up in litigation is still causing confusion for farmers.

NPPC president John Weber, a pork producer from Dysart, Iowa, says the Waters of the U.S. rule (WOTUS) is final, but has been stayed indefinitely by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“When a farmer wants to do a conservation project, whether it’s to build a waterway, terraces or to tile, it’s another layer of bureaucracy that we have to get approval on.”

Weber says if and when the rule goes into effect, no one knows who has jurisdiction to enforce it.

“So it’s already hampering conservation efforts on the parts of farmers, and I see that becoming a real problem as we move forward.”

He says WOTUS is a vast overreach by the EPA and NPPC continues to call for withdrawal of the rule.

Weber spoke to reporters Wednesday morning during the first day of World Pork Expo in Des Moines.