A series of memos the Obama Administration intended to keep private shows a culture of secrecy, falsehood and dysfunction that permeated the Waters of the U.S. rulemaking process. The American Farm Bureau charges the Army Corps of Engineers memos show the Corps “repeatedly rebuked EPA officials for their abuse of the rulemaking process in producing the deeply controversial Waters of the United States rule,” and the entire economic analysis used to support the rule “had no basis in either science or economics.”
“It is clear from the memos that there were dire concerns internally that EPA was getting it wrong and with a high degree of arrogance,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “The flawed economic study is just the tip of the iceberg, and it was known internally that trouble was ahead. In fact, the memos themselves were stamped ‘Litigation Sensitive.’ They were never intended to see the light of day.”
The Corps documents also validate American Farm Bureau Federation’s own concerns that the rule makes it impossible for anyone, including the Corps, to know which features on the landscape are regulated, and which are not. The Corps even raised concern that it would be difficult to determine whether “a low depressional area on a farm field that ponds water after a rainstorm for ten days” would be a regulated “water” or an excluded “puddle.” EPA insisted throughout the rulemaking process that “puddles” would not be regulated.
As the Army Corps memos clearly show, political appointees repeatedly ignored vigorous objections of career agency staff in order to rush the rule through.
“The Corps documents confirm what we have been saying all along,” Stallman said. “Even the Army Corps of Engineers concedes this rule is unworkable. The Army Corps’ name is on the rule, yet experts tasked with determining its validity said they wanted the Corps’ name removed from the economic analysis used to justify it.”
Farm Bureau called on the EPA to immediately withdraw its “flawed rule, go back to the drawing board and address the concerns of farmers, ranchers and business owners across the country.”
When you need to dig, push, lift, trench, load or haul something on the farm, you can’t go wrong with one of New Holland’s skid steer loaders. Chuck learned more about the diverse versatility at the recent New Holland Media Days, which was full of hands-on demonstrations and information.
