Rep. Fong Partners with California Farm Bureau to Applaud Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Revision

CENTRAL VALLEY, Calif. – Congressman Vince Fong (CA-20) is partnering with the California Farm Bureau to applaud the Trump Administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement that the agency will revise the Biden-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule:
“California farmers and ranchers are essential to feeding our nation, but the Biden Administration’s overreaching WOTUS rule threatened their livelihoods with burdensome regulations. Biden’s EPA weaponized WOTUS to impose federal control over private land, creating unnecessary red tape for our agricultural producers. I applaud the Trump Administration for rejecting this overreach and restoring common-sense water policies to our communities,” Rep. Fong (CA-20) said.
“California Farm Bureau appreciates the Waters of the United States comment period announced this week by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. It is critical that family farmers and ranchers have a strong understanding of the boundaries of this regulation, including clear definitions for significant terms such as ‘continuous surface connection’ and ‘relatively permanent.’ It is our hope that this opportunity to provide feedback to the agencies will result in durable implementation guidelines and certainty for California’s farmers and ranchers,” said Shannon Douglass, President, California Farm Bureau.
For more information, please visit fong.house.gov.
Background:
On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Sackett v. EPA against the Biden Administration's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, narrowing the definition of “waters of the United States.” This week, the EPA provided updated guidance clarifying the application of federal protections for WOTUS in alignment with the Sackett decision. Under the revised guidance, federal protections apply only to waters that are directly adjoining other protected waters or have a continuous surface water connection to them.
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