WASHINGTON—Describing the flawed “Waters of the U.S.” rule as nothing more than a federal land grab, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall called President Trump’s executive order to ditch the rule “a welcome relief to farmers and ranchers across the country.”  

Duvall asserted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “failed to listen to farmers’ and ranchers’ concerns when drafting the rule and instead created widespread confusion for agriculture. Under the rule, the smallest pond or ditch could be declared a federal waterway.”

He called Trump’s action a common-sense approach to regulatory reform.  

Duvall and newly appointed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt attended the executive order signing at the White House. Pruitt then joined Duvall and nearly 500 state Farm Bureau leaders and staff at the AFBF Advocacy Conference.

“This is just the first step to fixing what’s wrong with government regulations,” Pruitt said of the executive order. “There are going to be many steps ahead, and we’re going to make sure we do so being mindful of protecting our water, protecting our air, protecting our natural resources.” 
 
Pruitt added that the federal government will no longer impose one-size-fits-all solutions on the states.

“We’re going to go back to the states and say, ‘We want you to be our partners, not our adversaries.’”

Media: Contact Will Rodger, 202-406-3642, or Kari Barbic, 202-406-3672, AFBF communications.