Did you think the farmer in Tulare or Placer can control their own land? Not for years—and it is not the County, city or State of California that is a threat to the property rights of California farmers—or the farmers of the 49 other States. It is the Federal EPA that can issue a ruling, declare a portion of your land a “wetland” and you will not be able to use it. You could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on experts and attorneys, take several years challenging the Federal declaration—but you will continue to pay property taxes on land the government has taken from you.
“The private property rights — and the property values — of countless American farmers, ranchers and landowners nationwide are being devastated by an unauthorized and unlawful regulatory scheme implemented over the past 12 years by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Trump administration — especially under EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt — and the Congress together have an exceptional opportunity to protect these law-abiding citizens, uphold the Constitution, and restore the trust in government that is so important to the dignity of everyday American citizens.
Trump has helped the steel workers, the miners, and many other. Now it is the time for his Administration to help the farmers and the Constitutional protection of private property rights. Our farmers need support from Washington—not theft. The time is now for the support.
Threatening farmers’ property rights
The U.S. government should rescind unauthorized restrictions on the use of farmland
By John Sitilides, Washington Times, 5/1/17
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The private property rights — and the property values — of countless American farmers, ranchers and landowners nationwide are being devastated by an unauthorized and unlawful regulatory scheme implemented over the past 12 years by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Trump administration — especially under EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt — and the Congress together have an exceptional opportunity to protect these law-abiding citizens, uphold the Constitution, and restore the trust in government that is so important to the dignity of everyday American citizens.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates there are about 53 million acres of prior converted croplands throughout the United States. Since 1972, the Clean Water Act (CWA) — enacted with bipartisan congressional support — regulated only the “navigable waters” of the United States and exempted from federal regulation all areas that are not “the waters of the United States.”
This understanding was further reinforced by President Bill Clinton, whose 1993 Wetlands Plan included a rule that prior converted croplands, defined as agricultural lands that were converted from wetlands prior to 1985, were excluded from the definition of “the waters of the United States.” As a result, the Army Corps adopted a rule that croplands were not subject to regulation under CWA Section 404. The Clinton administration further stated its assurance “to American farmers that an estimated 53 million acres of prior converted cropland will not be subject to regulation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.”
For decades, both the legislative and executive branches had clearly — and correctly — stipulated that prior converted croplands are not “waters of the United States.” That’s because prior converted croplands have been cleared, drained or otherwise altered and manipulated under decades of farming activities to make it possible to plant and grow crops. Because they do not exhibit any important wetland values, and are not navigable waters of the United States, they had always been exempt under the Clean Water Act’s Section 404 overseeing wetlands permitting jurisdiction.
For more than 30 years after the enactment of the landmark legislation, property owners could farm their land without having to obtain a permit — exactly as Republican and Democratic lawmakers together had intended. Prior converted croplands — no matter their use — were always exempt from federal regulation.
About Stephen Frank
Speak Your Mind