Obama Administration

The Interior Department may see more lawsuits after announcing it would no longer require the Bureau of Land Management to create an environmental impact statement for more than 3,200 oil and gas leases in seven states. The Biden administration started work on the review four days before President Trump took office in January...

If you ever have an opportunity to visit the USDA headquarters in D.C., you’ll see painted portraits of all agriculture secretaries, including that of Secretary Tom Vilsack, from his first term of service from 2009 to 2017.  As Vilsack prepares to wrap up a second four-year stint as Ag Secretary, some might be surprised when he says a second portrait reflecting this most recent time in office is n

Last week, EPA Administrator Michael Regan defended his agency’s issuing its final WOTUS rule in December, ahead of what could be a watershed Supreme Court WOTUS ruling later this year.  Regan was pressed by Republican senators at an Environment and Public Works hearing on why EPA jumped ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling expected by June in Sackett vs. EPA, a case many bel...

The Biden administration's version of the Waters of the U.S. rule went into effect Monday, but not for everyone.  Over the weekend, a Texas federal judge put the updated WOTUS on hold in Idaho as well as the Lone Star State.  The Court’s order Sunday granted a preliminary injunction halting the Biden WOTUS rules only for Idaho and Texas, who co-led a lawsuit.  The suits argued that E...

The Biden EPA has issued a final rewrite of Trump-era WOTUS reforms, and farm groups like National Cattlemen are not happy.  NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart said the Biden Administration’s final Waters of the U.S. rule is tainted.   “The r...

Legislation introduced last week would remove burdensome government regulations from the trucking industry, according to Senator Mike Rounds.  The South Dakota Republican introduced the Trucking Regulations Unduly Constricting Known Service-providers, or TRUCKS Act.  ...

Like much of the farming community across the country, the Idaho Cattle Association is watching the ongoing WOTUS debate very closely. The Biden EPA has announced it will replace the Trump era Navigable Waters Protection Act, but it remains unclear if that means a return to the Obama Administration’s Waters of the U.S. ru ...

According to Politico, the White House and the EPA target February for the administration’s WOTUS debut. The Waters of the United States Rule continues its seesaw reputation since first announced during the Obama administration. The Trump administration overhauled the rule, and now, the Biden administration is doing the same. The ...

A federal court in South Carolina recently dismissed a challenge to the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which was crafted to replace the Obama era WOTUS rule. The American Farm Bureau Federation said that court decision gives producers some regulatory certainty, until the Biden EPA finalizes their new rule, a process that could take months ...

The EPA plans to repeal and rewrite the definition of water of the United States, or WOTUS. The EPA announced Wednesday it will repeal the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which replaced the Obama-era Waters of the U.S. rule. EPA Administrator Michael Regan states, “the EPA and Department of the Army have determined that this rule is leading to significant environmental degradation.”