EPA Expands Power by Calling Plowed Farm Fields ‘Mini Mountain Ranges’
20th October 2016
When farmers plow their land, it produces grooves called “furrows,” bordered by small ridges of dirt.
But in pursuit of new regulatory powers, federal agencies refer to the little dirt mounds by another term: “mini mountain ranges.” That seemingly absurd distinction is being used to impose more federal control over private land use decisions made by U.S. farmers.
I am not making this up.
The rule would allow puddles, tire ruts and standing water to be labeled “disturbed wetlands” and regulated under the Clean Water Act. The Senate committee report states the rule would allow EPA to get around legal limits to its authority over ditches, draws, low areas, or other wet areas by simply calling them a “regulated tributary” or “wetland.”
I wish I were.