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Government/Regulations
Government/Regulations
Waters of the United States
Waters of the United States
The government is responsible for regulating beef production, whether that be conditions, food standards, or pollutants. In this case, the most important aspect to the beef industry to us was the regulation of wastewater produced by slaughterhouses. The Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, is "a term used in the Clean Water Act (CWA) to determine which waters and their conveyances fall under federal and state permitting authority" (National Association of Counties, 2023). The latest revised definition of WOTUS was published on January 18, 2023, and went into effect on March 20, 2023. This new definition does not apply to all states as of now due to litigation (Environmental Protection Agency, 2023). The purpose of this rule is to geographically define the Environmental Protection Agency's, along with other agencies', authority in regulating waters to ensure they meet water quality standards. The significant nexus standard has expanded areas of jurisdiction in this updated revision, which has lead to many upsets (Peterson & Ward, 2023). This includes EPA regulation of bodies of water near slaughterhouses, to monitor the waste they are putting into these water systems. Slaughterhouses are one of the greatest contributors to phosphorus and nitrogen being put into the water (Douglas, 2023). This new version has left cattle ranchers confused and frustrated. The rule has been very inconsistent over the years, which inhibits agriculture and cattle farming from making advancements in their sustainability. There have been unclear guidelines and lawsuits that have interfered with cattle farmers ability to produce beef correctly (AgAmerica, 2023). Since many states are against this new definition, there is much work needed to reach an agreement in the future that ensures sustainable and responsible usage of water by beef cattle.
“The use of the ‘significant nexus’ test allows the agencies to aggregate waters together and the reliance on the vague term provides the agencies the latitude to reach whatever conclusion they please.”
– Garrett Hawkins, President of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation
“Regulations of any type should be simple and easy to follow. They should carry out the intent of the law in a clear and transparent manner, making them easily enforced. There should be no subjectivity or wiggle room for any bureaucrat or bureaucrats to substitute their own biases..."
– David Rouzer, North Carolina Representative
Overreaching regulations create major permit backlogs for the federal government and result in long delays for farmers and ranchers who are working to keep America fed.
– Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation
This image shows the agricultural aspect of water being managed by the EPA under the revised rule (Barret et al, 2020).
References
AgAmerica. (2023, May 3). How WOTUS affects farmers and ranchers. AgAmerica. https://agamerica.com/blog/water-regulation-updates/
Barret, A., Jones, J., Park, D., & White, S. (2020, June 28). How the 2020 definition of WOTUS affects agricultural and specialty crop producers. Land-Grant Press. https://lgpress.clemson.edu/publication/how-the-2020-definition-of-wotus-affects-agricultural-and-specialty-crop-producers/
Douglas, Leah. (2023, March 1). US to toughen water pollution rules for meat plants. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-toughen-water-pollution-rules-meat-plants-2023-03-01/
Engineers Corps & Environmental Protection Agency. (2023, January 18). Revised definition of "waters of the United States." Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/18/2022-28595/revised-definition-of-waters-of-the-united-states
Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). Current implementation of waters of the United States. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/wotus/current-implementation-waters-united-states
National Association of Counties. (2023). Water of the U.S. action center. NACo. https://www.naco.org/advocacy/action-centers/waters-us-action-center#:~:text=Waters%20of%20the%20United%20States,federal%20and%20state%20permitting%20authority
Peterson, Rafe & Ward, Alexandra. (2023, January 19). Waters of the U.S. rule will significantly expand federal authority. Holland and Knight Law. https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2023/01/waters-of-the-us-rule-will-significantly-expand-federal-authority#:~:text=The%20WOTUS%20Rule%20is%20the,Waters%20Protection%20Rule%20(NWPR)
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