FORT WORTH, Texas — In 2015, the Obama administration enacted its Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule. The absurdly overreaching scheme would have gone as far as regulating drainage ditches and streams that only flow after heavy rainfall. Fortunately, it was replaced with the more sensible Navigable Waters Protection Rule, or NWPR, in 2020. That rule set clear and reasonable standards for federal regulation of water features that property owners could interpret without spending tens of thousands of dollars on professional consultants.
Thursday, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers formally announced their proposal to repeal and replace NWPR.
“It is incredibly disappointing that cattle producers must once again deal with the regulatory uncertainly and potential for government overreach that comes with the announcement,” said Hughes Abell, president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. “No one understands the importance of clean water and land stewardship like cattle producers. It is our livelihood, and we will fight to continue caring for our land and cattle.
“While we oppose the repeal of NWPR, the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association will work diligently to ensure the replacement keeps key elements of NWPR. Most notably, any new rule must maintain a traditional definition of navigable water, exclude isolated water features and groundwater, and be easy to interpret by landowners.
“I urge the Biden administration to act in the interest of the men and women who produce the food we need every single day,” Abell concluded.
TSCRA is a 144-year-old trade association and is the largest and oldest livestock organization based in Texas. TSCRA has more than 17,000 beef cattle operations, ranching families and businesses as members. These members represent approximately 55,000 individuals directly involved in ranching and beef production who manage 4 million head of cattle on 76 million acres of range and pasture land, primarily in Texas, Oklahoma and the Southwest.
–Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas Tribune, the statewide, nonpartisan public service digital news organization, will host industry experts, community leaders and local lawmakers from across Texas for a special event, The Future of Rural Texas. This is a free, open-to-the-public gathering dedicated to unpacking the future of rural Texas. The event will take place in […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association earlier this week joined the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and 47 other cattle organizations in submitting an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Sackett v. EPA. The brief, available here, asks that the nation’s highest court adopt a limited […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — When Arthur Uhl married his wife, Lorrie, he joined two families: the Powell family of San Angelo, with ranching roots tracing back six generations, and Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. The lawyer from San Antonio was welcomed with open arms as he learned the cattle business, and offered his own […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, is set to headline the 2022 Cattle Raisers Convention & Expo, taking place at the Fort Worth Convention Center in downtown Fort Worth on March 25-27, 2022. Hosted annually by Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), the event is the largest cattle and ranching […]
WASHINGTON — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) recently criticized the Biden administration’s repeal of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), which provided regulatory certainty to farmers and ranchers and limited federal overreach. “The NWPR was a solution to the disastrous 2015 ‘Waters of the United States’ (WOTUS) rule that vastly expanded federal jurisdiction over […]
