FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May, 27, 2015
CONTACT: LARAMIE ADAMS
CELL: 512-922-7328
Fort Worth, Texas – Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) President Pete Bonds today made the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The Agency finalized the rule, which unilaterally expands its jurisdiction over water in our country, only six months after receiving one million public comments.
“The EPA claims the finalized Waters of the U.S. rule is an effort to keep our nation’s water clean and safe, but I fully disagree,” said Bonds. “I believe the rule provides another avenue for the agenda driven, bureaucratic federal government to expand its jurisdiction through one of the largest land grabs in national history. This is only the latest example, out of a long line of instances, where the Administration has abused its power to take away land and resources from hardworking Americans.
“This rule will unilaterally allow the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to regulate ranchers out of business by taking control of the water we rely on to raise cattle and provide a healthy food supply worldwide.
“The EPA also used an extremely flawed process for compiling the water rule. The law requires the EPA to read and consider all public comments submitted, but only after months of receiving one million comments, the Agency finalized the rule. I find it very hard to believe the EPA took all of the comments into consideration. The Agency blatantly disregarded the concerns raised by ranchers and other relevant stakeholders throughout the entire rulemaking process.
“TSCRA will continue opposing this flawed water rule and work to prevent the EPA from further infringing on Americans’ constitutional private property rights,” Bonds concluded.
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TSCRA is a 138-year-old trade association and is the largest and oldest livestock organization based in Texas. TSCRA has more than 16,500 beef cattle operations, ranching families and businesses as members. These members represent approximately 50,000 individuals directly involved in ranching and beef production who manage 4 million head of cattle on 76 million acres of range and pasture land primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, but throughout the Southwest.