Overturning Current WOTUS Would Show ‘Lack of Common Sense,’ Grassley Says
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pressing fellow Iowan, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary (USDA) Tom Vilsack, on recent actions by the Biden administration that Grassley says have the potential to harm Iowa and the U.S. agriculture industry.
In a letter written this week, the Iowa senator, along with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), expressed concern over the Administration’s decisions to roll back the previous administration’s Navigable Waters Protection rule and rumored plans to undercut the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
“Policy changes in Washington have a major impact on the livelihoods of our farmers. A recent announcement by the Biden Administration regarding its planned rewrite of the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS), as well as rumors about administrative action to reduce or eliminate renewable fuel blending targets for petroleum refiners, make me question this administration’s commitment to our agricultural producers,” the senators wrote.
In a discussion with Chip Flory, AgriTalk host, Grassley said he hopes to address the subject of WOTUS on the floor of the U.S. Senate yet this week.
“I intend to have a map of Iowa that will show that 97% of the land of Iowa is affected by the waters of the U.S. rule that came out under Obama, and how devastating that would be to agriculture, from the standpoint that almost any rules that a farmer might have to make would be subject to federal regulation of one sort or other,” Grassley said.
Nearly any move by Iowa farmers would be affected by the decision to change the current WOTUS rulings, which Grassley said shows a lack of common sense.
“I like to say you’re going to have to have a permit to do normal farming decisions,” he told Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk.
“They’re figuring every road ditch (in Iowa) will be subject to federal regulation,” Grassley said, tongue in cheek.
Pork Processing Line Speeds Affected
During his conversation with Flory, Grassley addressed the issue of the federal court’s decision to slow down processing line speeds, turning back some of the rules and regulations of the swine inspection system that have been in place for 20 years.
Is there anything that can be done to stop the slow down, Flory asked.
“Secretary Vilsack is sympathetic to what the pork producers of Iowa want, but as you can imagine he's in an administration that's very pro-union,” Grassley said.
Grassley said he planned to ask Vilsack to take action on the issue.
“We need help,” he said. “Because when you slow down the chain by 2.5%, that's going to cost pork producers $80 million a year. It’s going to reduce the price of an individual hog by about $23 is what I heard from Iowa State. So, I'm also hoping to talk to Vilsack myself this week on the phone about this and the biofuels problem we have with EPA.”
Listen to the complete discussion between Grassley and Flory here:
