CHENANGO COUNTY – Proposed environmental legislation that may restrict the way farmers do business was shot down in the U.S. House of Representatives last week, giving local ag businesses reason to be optimistic that the bill may never come to pass.
The House last week voted 262-152 to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers from expanding federal regulations that some legislators say would have a negative impact on upstate New York businesses, including farms, homebuilders and contractors.
The bill, titled the Regulatory Overreach Protection Act, has gained traction in Congress since being introduced by a Florida Representative Steve Southerland in July.
Both the EPA and the Army Corps are proposing to broaden the definition of “navigable waters” which is outlined in the Clean Water Act. According to opponents, the proposal would expand the on the federal power of the Clean Water Act, giving jurisdiction to nearly every body of water that can be connected to the Chesapeake Bay. This would include ditches, natural or man-made ponds, flood plains, and prairie potholes.
Farmers argue this can be burdensome as water can easily pool from time to time, particlarly during the spring when snow melts.
Locally, the Chenango County Board of Supervisors took a stance against the EPA and Army Corps with a resolution passed in May that opposes a broader definition of “navigable waters.” County leaders argued such changes in terminology would go so far as to regulate any body of water, regardless of size, so long as it could be traced to the Chesapeake.
The resolution opposing the expansion of federal control under the Clean Water Act was largely opposed by members of the Board of Supervisors with only Columbus Town Supervisor Tom Grace speaking in favor of the EPA’s proposal, insisting that regional action should be taken to reduce pollutants to the Chesapeake.
Congressman for New York’s 22nd District Richard Hanna (R) was among those who recently voted in the House to stop the EPA and Army Corps from expanding on the definition of navigable waters.
“Keeping a small business like a family farm operating and growing in New York State is hard work,” Hanna said in a statement. “The very last thing upstate needs is for the EPA to come onto our farms and start regulating common irrigation ditches and puddles. That’s why I supported this bill to get rid of these extra regulations that would do more harm than good.”
Overreaching regulations that create more red tape are among the top concerns for local farms, according to John Marshman, co-owner of Marshman Farms in Oxford. In May, Marshman hosted NY gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino during which time Marshman said how increasing state and federal environmental regulations are leaving a negative impact on the farming industry.
Action to stop the EPA and Corps of Engineers proposal has also received praise from the New York State Farm Bureau, which says expanding definitions in the Clean Water Act would have unintentional consequences.
“We can not understand the reasoning behind the EPA’s push to greatly expand the Clean Water Act,” stated Dean Norton, President of the NY Farm Bureau. “The ambiguities that come with this proposal potentially opens up every ditch and rain puddled on our farms to a host of new regulations. This defies logic because the cost to our farms and to the taxpayers could be enormous.”