New Waters of the US ruling casts doubts

Thanks for joining us, This is the Idaho Farm Bureau podcast coming to you from the Farm Bureau offices near the State Capitol.

A Trump WOTUS rule that limits protection for bodies of water must now be vacated while agencies make plans to replace it, a federal judge ruled in Arizona.

Judge Rosemary Marquez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona said that leaving the rule in place could cause serious environmental harm, and the rule-making process was full of ‘serious errors.’

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall expressed concern over the Arizona Court ruling saying the

“AFBF is extremely disappointed in the ruling to vacate the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. That Farmers finally had environmentally responsible regulations that brought clarity to clean water efforts. AND That This ruling casts uncertainty over farmers and ranchers across the country and threatens the progress they’ve made to responsibly manage water and natural resources,” said Duvall.

Friday is the deadline to submit comments on the Waters of the U.S. rewrite effort. Micheal Clements shares how you can submit comments to the Environmental Protection Agency.

A wildfire crisis remains in the northwestern part of the country. Stephanie Ho reports:

Most of Idaho’s grain harvest is in..We talked to USDA meteorologist, Brad Rippey, who says the harvest pace for the nation's small grains is way ahead of last year because of drought.

And the US is moving into a new ERA, an ERA of greater importance as the next decade was proclaimed by Idaho governor Brad little as the decade of Agriculture.