TSCRA President Richard Thorpe issued a statement Tuesday in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers reevaluate the waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. “The WOTUS rule is a misguided attempt to control water on our ranches and private lands by imposing overly burdensome regulations and harsh penalties on landowners. It would destroy the livelihoods of Texas ranchers by regulating them out of business, and threaten our ability to provide America with a safe and affordable food supply. I commend President Trump for recognizing the peril of such a rule and taking action to control federal overreach.”
The chairmen of both the House and Senate’s agriculture committees also issued statements applauding the action.
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, released the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order providing relief from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ‘Waters of the U.S.’ (WOTUS) rule.
“The WOTUS rule has been a thorn in the sides of rural America for too long, and I’m thrilled President Trump has taken swift action to get rid of it. The Obama Administration’s EPA claimed they listened to farmers when writing this rule; they did not. I’m pleased to see the Trump Administration is actually listening to rural America with this executive action.”
The WOTUS rule was developed by the Obama Administration’s EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It greatly expanded the EPA’s federal jurisdiction and scope of waterbodies subject to Clean Water Act requirements.
Prior to President Trump’s executive order, the rule was stayed pending legal challenges.
Chairman Roberts held a hearing on the WOTUS rule in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and cosponsored legislation to repeal the rule in the 114th Congress. Roberts joined the President at the White House for the signing of the executive order.
Click here to watch President Trump deliver remarks and sign the executive order.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway, Texas, issued the following statement in response to President Trump ordering the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to begin dismantling their controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.
“Over the past eight years, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have repeatedly ignored the concerns of our nation’s farmers and ranchers in their quest to implement the WOTUS rule. I applaud President Trump for taking the first steps to dismantle this egregious example of regulatory overreach.”