EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule slammed in committee hearing

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) spoke out against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States rule at an Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Rutledge’s testimony focused on the damaging impact the bill could have on her state due to its potential costs to the agricultural industry, which represents a large portion of Arkansas’ economy.

“As the first conservationists protecting the land and water, farmers and ranchers want to follow the law,” Rutledge said. “Restrictive and confusing administrative rules will inhibit their ability to farm and drive future generations out of agriculture, ultimately impacting the food supply of all Americans.”

Thune was also critical of the rule, saying that its proposal alone represented staggering costs for Congressional hearings held over it and the time local governments and business owners spent combating it.

“What concerns me the most about this EPA proposed Waters of the U.S. rule is that it is another example of what has become an all-too-common practice of this administration to reach into the lives, livelihoods and pocketbooks of the American people it is supposed to be helping,” Thune said.