DTN writer Todd Neeley reported earlier this week that, “U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is expected to visit 26 states in all before undertaking an eventual overhaul of the waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule.
“State and federal government leaders, as well as farmers in Iowa, met with the administrator in a roundtable discussion held at the Iowa Farm Bureau headquarters in Des Moines on Tuesday, an event that was closed to the media.
“Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, said during a news conference following the meeting that Pruitt emphasized the need for cooperative federalism and to put in place a rule easily understood by farmers and ranchers.”
Mr. Neeley noted that, “Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said after meeting with Pruitt that he believes the next rule will be entirely different.
“‘If another person had been elected president, farmers would need a permit to do normal farming operations,’ Grassley said.
“‘The previous administration was more interested in control of private property rather than the environment. It is quite obvious the interest of the family farmer was not taken into consideration by the previous administration.'”
The DTN article added that, “Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Pruitt’s approach to partnering with state officials on improving water quality was an important step toward rewriting the rule.”
