The EPA’s latest rule defining which US waters are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act has come under attack by America’s largest farm and ranch lobby. The Rural Blog quotes the head of the Farm Bureau as saying that “the waters-of-the-U.S. proposal is even worse than before. Our analysis shows yet again how unwise, extreme and unlawful this rule is." The Farm Bureau noted the EPA has broadened its definition of a tributary. This means that ditches, wet land near streams, isolated water and other areas are subject to the rule.
The Farm Bureau complained that the Army Corps of Engineers can now use desktop tools to determine water locations without ever laying eyes on the land itself. Thus, a land may be declared to contain a tributary, even if the water does not actually exist in the landscape.