WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today announced witnesses for the Committee’s hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Waters of the Unites States” (WOTUS) proposed rule.
The proposed WOTUS rule expands federal jurisdiction under EPA’s Clean Water Act and has ignited widespread concern from farmers, ranchers and rural constituencies around the country. The hearing will feature testimony from several of those stakeholders, including state and local officials responsible for the administration and enforcement of the proposed Clean Water Act changes and key agricultural industry representatives impacted by the burdensome regulation.
“Many of us on the Agriculture Committee, myself included, have serious concerns over the proposed WOTUS rule,” Roberts said. “As I said when I became chairman of this Committee, we will ensure that farmers and ranchers’ concerns about federal regulations are known and understood by lawmakers and the Administration. These witnesses will testify on the impacts of the rule to give EPA a clearer sense of what it means to producers.”
What: Waters of the United States: Stakeholder Perspectives on the Impacts of EPA’s Proposed Rule
Who: Panel I
The Honorable Leslie Rutledge, Attorney General, State of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
Dr. Donald van der Vaart, Secretary, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Raleigh, NC
Mrs. Susan Metzger, Assistant Secretary, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Manhattan, KS
Mr. Josh Baldi, Regional Director, Washington State Department of Ecology, Bellevue, WA
Panel II
The Honorable Lynn M. Padgett, Commissioner, Ouray County, Montrose, CO
Mr. Furman Brodie, Vice President, Charles Ingram Lumber Company, Effingham, SC
Mr. Jason Kinley, Director, Gem County Mosquito Abatement District, Emmett, ID
Mr. Robert “Mac” N. McLennan, President & CEO, Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc., Grand Forks, ND
Mr. Jeff Metz, Owner & Operator, Metz Land and Cattle Co., Bayard, NE
Mr. Kent Peppler, President, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Denver, CO
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Place: 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building
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