© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

EPA Promotes Water Rule To Farmers

Kristofor Husted
/
Harvest Public Media

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency is touring farm country, trying to assure farmers that the agency isn’t asking for more authority over farmers and ranchers’ lands.

In Missouri Wednesday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy sought to battle back against a barrage of opposition from many of the most powerful farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The EPA wants to clarify a portion of the Clean Water Act to give the agency more control over millions of acres of wetlands and streams. But many farm groups contend that the rule would allow the agency to dictate how farmers use certain bodies of water on farmland.

McCarthy, though, maintains the rule change isn’t meant to burden farmers, but to protect downstream waters.

“Part of the concern I have is that this has been characterized as the largest land grab ever in the United States," she said. "We’re not regulating land. We’re simply trying to protect drinking water, knowing that’s important for agriculture.”

Many farm interests are putting pressure on lawmakers to work against the proposal.

The Farm Bureau, in particular, has been vocal in its opposition to the change. It asserts that the new rule would give the EPA jurisdiction over small ponds and ditches and require farmers to apply for new permits and to jump through new regulatory hoops. Its “Ditch the Rule” campaign has spread on social media.

McCarthy’s farm tour was meant to highlight support for the proposal.

“I understand people have concerns,” McCarthy said. “Those are the issues we have to talk about. The more that people invent ideas and throw them on the table about what this might be, the less time we can spend together working on real things.”

The public comment period for the rule closes Oct. 20. McCarthy will be in Kansas City, Mo., to talk to the Agricultural Business Council later on Thursday. 

Harvest Public Media, based at KCUR, is a collaborative public media project that reports on important agricultural issues in the Midwest. You can read more about the project on their website.

As the Midwest Newsroom’s senior content editor, I strive to amplify voices from the region our audiences don’t often hear from. I work with our reporters to seek out stories and experiences that help broaden perspectives and hold people accountable. I also seek to share our team’s reporting in all kinds of mediums to meet our audiences where they are.
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.