Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller Praises WOTUS Repeal By EPA (6/29/2017)

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller today applauded the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to repeal the Obama administration-era Clean Water Rule and revisit the definition of waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) before creating new rules. The move is a step in the right direction to remove EPA’s burdensome overregulation of farmers and ranchers across Texas and the nation, Commissioner Miller said.

“More than half of the states in this country filed lawsuits against the EPA over the WOTUS definition in the Clean Water Rule,” Commissioner Miller said. “The EPA’s attempt to control the use of our own land and water for agriculture production and to earn a livelihood was a threat to private property rights, individual freedom and economic growth in our country. Under Obama’s leadership, the EPA was just chomping at the bit to grab more and more power, but I am so glad to say that’s getting reined in by common-sense leaders like President Trump and Administrator Pruitt. Finally, I no longer have to sue my own government.”

The EPA’s action paves the way for a second rulemaking process in which the EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Army will re-evaluate the legal definition of “waters of the United States” and, hopefully, clarify a more reasonable and accurate definition.

“Five years ago, a farmer in California was issued a violation of the Clean Water Rule for simply plowing and planting his own wheat field. That’s simply inexcusable in the United States of America,” Commissioner Miller said. “We have the right to farm our own land for profit. Our farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists and stewards of the land and I don’t know a single one of us who would intentionally harm our precious natural resources that we depend on for income, food and fiber. We know how to protect the land far better than any bureaucrat in Washington.”