Agriculture concerned WOTUS could reappear

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Agriculture concerned WOTUS could reappear

Some in agriculture are concerned the Biden Administration might revisit the Waters of the U.S. Rule.

Compeer Financial vice president of legislative affairs Perry Aasness tells Brownfield there will likely be new members in Congress and on Biden’s staff who want to bring WOTUS back.

“It would be very unfortunate if that were to occur, so I think that is something the agriculture sector as a whole is watching very closely for signals to see if we’re going to have to re-litigate and re-fight that. Or if we can move on to more important things that have more meaningful impact on water quality and the environment.”

The Trump Administration repealed the WOTUS Rule and replaced it with the Navigable Waters Protections Rule, which became effective last June in every state except Colorado due to a court-issued stay in that state.

Ag groups like Farm Bureau have referred to WOTUS as “government overreach” saying the rule goes too far and puts farmers at risk.

Aasness made his comments as part of the What’s Happening with Ag PolicyPodcast, a content partnership between Compeer Financial and Brownfield.

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