Tuesday July 17, 2007
The Honorable James Oberstar
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
US House of Representatives
Washington, DC
Established in 1933, CropLife America (CLA) is the nation’s largest trade organization for agriculture and pest management. We represent more than 80 developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of virtually all the crop protection products used by American farmers and growers. We are the voice of the industry that ensures the safe and responsible use of pesticides in order to provide a safe, affordable and abundant food supply. We ask that our comments be included as part of the record of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing entitled “Status of the Nation’s Waters, Including wetlands, Under the Jurisdiction of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act” held on July 17 and 19, 2007.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Corps of Engineers have jointly issued a legal memorandum that interprets the June 19, 2006 Supreme Court decision in the consolidated cases Rapanos v. U.S. and Carabell v. U.S. The guidance released by the Corps of Engineers and EPA will help to ensure nationwide predictability, reliability and consistency in identifying wetlands, streams and rivers subject to the Clean Water Act. CropLife America filed an amicus brief in the consolidated cases and the Court’s ruling supports CLA’s position that the definition of “navigable waters” is not limitless. We agree with the plurality decision that drainage ditches and low-lying field areas do not qualify as wetlands and accordingly do not come under Clean Water Act jurisdiction.
It is important that Congress not rush to legislate what is more appropriately addressed administratively. The Supreme Court was clear that the Corps of Engineers and EPA should issue new regulations. We believe the issuance of the guidance is a necessary first step to clarify the question of legal jurisdiction. We are pleased that the agencies have provided an opportunity for public involvement as the guidance is implemented.
Over the past 30 years the definition of what constitutes a “water of the United States” has matured. It is clear that Congress did not intend for all waters within the boundaries of the United States to fall under Federal jurisdiction. Had that been the case, the term “navigable” would not have been used repeatedly throughout the Act. It is through the established legal process, specifically pending guidance released by Corps of Engineers and EPA, that the definition of what constitutes a “water of the United States” should be refined. To broaden the definition through legislation would create the unintended consequence of diverting resources away from priority bodies of water in favor of a system where federal dollars are stretched too thin and existing Clean Water Act permit backlogs increase exponentially.
I hope that you will consider our comments as you move forward to conduct oversight hearings on the Status of the Nation’s Waters, including Wetlands, Under the Jurisdiction of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
In 1972, Congress enacted the Clean Water Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Clean Water Act authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the nation’s waterways by regulating discharges of large industrial operations and wastewater facilities through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
