The American Farm Bureau recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments against a lower court ruling that gives the Environmental Protection Agency broad powers to micromanage local water runoff.
AFBF General Counsel Ellen Steen says the agency is on the cusp of establishing a nationwide super-zoning authority, which threatens landowners, farmers and ranchers while undercutting local and state governments’ legal authority.
The lawsuit arose in the wake of EPA’s so-called blueprint for restoring the Chesapeake Bay, although the issue is national in scope.
Farm Bureau supports cleaner watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay and around the nation but is fighting EPA’s process for getting there.
Steen says Congress decided the states should have the power to plan for clean water goals and the states have the power to change those plans based on new information, better information or changes in the facts.
This means that the people who care about local economies are the ones making local decisions, not the federal government.
However, this can only happen if the Supreme Court decides to hear the case.
