Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear a challenge to the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan probably does not bode well for Iowa and other states in the Mississippi River basin.
“Because the principles in that particular part of the country—under those rules for the Chesapeake Bay—are kind of a boiler plate for what they would like in the rest of the country,” he says.
Grassley says he is hopeful that the voluntary Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy will be enough to keep the EPA at bay. But he says the pressure on agriculture continues to build.
“I think you’re seeing that through the Waters of the U.S. rule that the courts are holding up now. And I think you see it in the lawsuit of the Des Moines Water Works against the drainage districts in three counties in Iowa.”
Grassley was asked if there’s anything Congress can do.
“Well, Congress can re-write the law any time. We can put a stop to regulations any time. We can put amendments on appropriations bills. But that isn’t going to happen in this administration,” he says. “Sometimes things have to get so bad before either a court will look at it or Congress will take action.
“I think it’s bad news for agriculture generally.”
The lawsuit was led by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall says his group will closely monitor the EPA’s actions in connection with the Chesapeake Bay blueprint, as well as any efforts to impose similar mandates in other areas. Quoting Duvall, “This lawsuit has ended, but the larger battle over the scope of EPA’s power is not over."
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com