27-Jan-2021
03:21:17
Water Rule, ESA Under Review 01/27 15:20
Biden Administration Set to Review Several Regulations Important to Ag
The Biden administration is reviewing a number of regulatory actions taken
by the Trump administration, including several rules that affect agriculture.
Todd Neeley
DTN Staff Reporter
OMAHA (DTN) -- The ushering in of the Trump administration back in 2017
launched large-scale deregulation at the federal level, including agriculture.
Just a week in office, President Joe Biden already has announced a review of
a number of federal regulations, including Trump's Navigable Waters Protection
Rule, changes made to the Endangered Species Act, National Ambient Air Quality
standards for particulate matter, Agricultural Worker Protection Standard, and
action to keep chlorpyrifos-based pesticides on the market despite pushback
from environmentalists.
In an executive order signed Wednesday to deal with climate change, the
White House noted that among the first actions Biden took in office was an
"immediate review of harmful rollbacks of standards that protect our air, water
and communities."
When it comes to the regulation of water on farms and ranches, the pendulum
has swung back and forth since 2015 when the Obama-era waters of the U.S.
(WOTUS) rule drew pushback from states, farmers and ranchers and other
industries across the country. The rule was seen as a federal overreach and
sparked concerns about private property rights.
Environmental, conservation and other interests supported WOTUS because it
expanded the number of water bodies covered by the Clean Water Act.
During his first days in office, Trump ordered EPA and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to repeal and replace the 2015 rule. Trump's EPA replaced WOTUS
with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, designed to simplify questions of
Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The Trump EPA narrowed federal authority to four
specific categories of waterways.
Under the new rule, traditional regulated bodies such as territorial seas
and major rivers fall under federal rules, as well as "perennial and
intermittent tributaries" and certain lakes and ponds and impoundments that
contribute to the flow of a navigable waterway, along with wetlands "adjacent
to jurisdictional waters." The new rule, which faces its own legal challenges,
leaves oversight for other bodies of water to states and tribes.
On Wednesday, a group of 26 Republican senators announced the drafting of a
resolution to support the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Sen. Joni Ernst,
R-Iowa, said the Biden administration "is working at a rapid pace" to undue the
Trump rule.
"Everyone should agree that clean water should be a national priority,"
Ernst said. "But I can't stand by and allow for another Washington power grab
that will make it harder for Iowans to farm, ranch, and build."
See the resolution here:
https://www.ernst.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6b992ec5-b590-4678-bd08-7af228e
761ee/718BB63A2854ED84685599F59EE9A6CB.ernst-wotus-resolution-21.1.27.pdf.
CHLORPYRIFOS
The Biden EPA also will review the EPA's 2019 decision not to ban the use of
chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to brain injury and banned in many other
countries and even certain American states, such as California. The
insecticide, known best in agriculture under Corteva's former brand name,
Lorsban, targets a range of sucking, biting and chewing insects and is
registered for use in a wide variety of crops, including corn, alfalfa, sugar
beets, cotton, wheat, soybeans and peanuts. In 2015, EPA was poised to revoke
all food residue tolerances for the chemical, effectively ending its legal use
in the U.S. But former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed that decision in
2019. Since then, the agency has been forging ahead with a re-registration
review, despite chlorpyrifos's primary registrant, Corteva, announcing it would
stop producing the insecticide in 2020. Most recently, the agency released an
interim registration decision for the chemical. See more here:
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2020/12/04/epa-proposes-s
afety-measures.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
For decades, attempts to reform the Endangered Species Act had been met with
resistance in Congress and from environmental interests. Many agriculture
interests have decried the ESA as ineffective despite stringent regulation on
farmers and ranchers.
In August 2019, the Trump administration finalized three rules to change the
law.
Most notably, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed its blanket rule in
the ESA that automatically grants the same protections for threatened species
that are available for endangered species.
The final rules do not affect protections for species currently listed as
threatened but instead will receive protections tailored to species' individual
conservation needs.
As of July 2016, 34 of 1,596 listed species were delisted because of
recovery, or a success rate of 2.1%, according to USFWS. About 75% of listed
species use private land as habitat.
AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD
In October 2020, the EPA finalized changes to application exclusion zones
when it comes to applying pesticides, designed to protect agriculture workers
from exposure in the field.
Most notably, AEZ requirements in the worker protection safety rule are
designed to keep agriculture workers away from areas on farms where pesticides
are being applied. The rule requires ag workers to not be within either 25 feet
or 100 feet from where pesticides are being applied.
Pesticide applicators are required to shut down spraying when someone enters
exclusion zones.
The previous rule required farm workers to take steps to protect themselves
from pesticides even after they left the farm. The new rule removed those
provisions.
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT
The Trump administration made a number of changes to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), designed to streamline the process for farmers
and ranchers who seek renewal of term grazing permits, want to conduct range
improvements and to be involved in USDA programs.
The U.S. Department of Interior rule shortened the time for seeking approval
of infrastructure and other projects under the auspices of NEPA.
In particular, the Trump administration established time limits of two years
for completion of environmental impact statements and one year for completion
of environmental assessments.
The previous NEPA had average wait times for approval of four to five years.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Public Lands Council and the
Family Farm Alliance expressed support for the proposal. The previous NEPA
process was said to have harmed producers wanting to improve water resources in
dry regions of the country.
NAAQ STANDARDS ON PARTICULATE MATTER
In 2018, the Trump administration announced intentions to reform the
national ambient air quality standards in the Clean Air Act, or NAAQ.
In December 2020, the administration instead left in place the Obama
administration change.
In 2015, EPA tightened the ozone standards of particulate matter from 75
parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb. That action was of particular concern to
farmers and ranchers who already operate in regions of the country that
struggle to meet national ambient air quality standards for ozone.
Many of those producers have had to work to reduce dust pollution on their
farms as part of plans in place in what are called "non-attainment areas."
Agriculture groups cried foul at the notion the federal government could
regulate farm dust -- an idea that became a rallying cry for those who believed
the agency was taking an overly zealous regulatory approach.
The standards have been a headache for farmers and ranchers in some regions
of the country, particularly in the Southwest.
DTN Staff Reporter Emily Unglesbee contributed to this story.
Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @toddneeleyDTN
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