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MO Farm Bureau opposes final WOTUS rule

Some ag groups continue to express disappointment in the Environmental Protection Agency’s final Waters of the U.S. rule.

The rule reverts back to its pre-2015 framework, and Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins says it’s bad news for farmers.

“It’s clearly a return to more uncertainty and more red tape for farmers and others who work the land,” he said. “That’s the frustration.”

He tells Brownfield the timing of the final rule was another concern. “We were frustrated it was dropped on December 30th. Almost a 500-page rule dropped at the end of the year.”

Hawkins says the previous Navigable Waters Protection Rule was a step forward for the ag industry, but… “Now we are seeing this back track, and you see significant nexus and some of these other terms return,” he said. “Truly what that means is more uncertainty for those of us that are just working hard to produce food, fiber and fuel.”

He says he expects WOTUS discussions to come up in the new Congress.

Hawkins spoke to Brownfield at the 2023 American Farm Bureau Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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