Corn growers want EPA, Corps of Engineers to release webinar data

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a closed webinar on Sept. 17 to talk about the final Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule.

There were 27 specific questions addressed during the event, and the National Corn Growers Association and 15 agricultural groups want the answers to these questions to be made public.

“It’s unfair to communicate to regulators on how to identify a WOTUS under the new rule, but not also share that information with the farmers and ranchers who are being regulated, and who bear all the risks and liabilities that come with it,” NCGA President Chip Bowling said in a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Secretary of the Army John McHugh.

“From the beginning, we have been asking for clarity and certainty about farmers’ obligations under the Clean Water Act," the letter said. "It only makes sense that farmers should receive the same guidance as EPA and Corps staff. We ask the agencies to provide the answers to these 27 questions, as well as future answers to questions about the rule, so that farmers can make more informed business decisions about their operations.”

The organizations requesting the answers also questioned whether the government members are in compliance of federal open records law.