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Common Sense Nebraska’s analysis

Programs ICONThe Nebraska coalition that’s fighting the EPA’s proposed Waters of the U.S. rule has released an analysis by a former director of the state’s Environmental Quality Department. Mike Linder told reporters this morning, there’s a large part of the Clean Water Act run by the states and the EPA rule would confuse that, “The fear would be that the difference interpretation, or application, of our Nebraska definition that some of those decisions have been made over the years could actually be impacted by this change.”

Linder says Nebraska’s livestock producers would be among those in agriculture negatively impacted by the expanded definitions of waterways in the rule.  He recommends the EPA scrap the proposal and change the part of the Clean Water Act that he says needs fixing – the 404 program – what the Common Sense Nebraska coalition calls a cumbersome and lengthy wetlands permitting program.

He says Nebraska has it right, “In Nebraska, with our 402 program there’s no problem. I don’t think there’s any identified problem even if you read the entire Corps and EPA proposed rule. The only problems they’re talking about are in their own problems in the 404 program. They’re trying to fix something that’s not broken with the other programs.”

AUDIO:  Mike Linder call with reporters (29:00 mp3)

 

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