Farmers cooperatives support criteria for “Waters of the U.S.” Bill

Federal Water Quality Protection Act of 2015, a bill sponsored by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), would put a new rule out from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers that would set criteria about what constitutes a "Water of the United States" (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act.

The Nation Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) supports the bill and wants it to be debated by the United States Senate.

Yesterday, Chuck Conner, the president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, released the following statement about the importance of a Senate debate on the bill.

“The recent redefinition of what constitutes a WOTUS goes far beyond what Congress intended in passing the Clean Water Act and expands EPA regulatory jurisdiction in an unprecedented way," Conner said. "The fact that the 6th Circuit Court has enjoined enforcement of the rules shows that there are major problems with what EPA and the Corps produced and that Congress should provide additional direction to the agencies to fix it. A debate on S. 1140 would be an important step in that direction, and so we urge senators to vote ‘yes’ on the motion to proceed later today.”

Today, cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure was not invoked in the Senate by a Yea-Nay Vote of 57-41 and the motion to proceed to consideration of the measure was withdrawn in the Senate.