WATCH THE WATER
When President Donald Trump took office, he immediately began a process to remove and replace undue regulatory burdens that stifle American innovation and economic development. At the top of the list was the Obama Administration’s 2015 Waters of the United States rule. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army are fulfilling the president’s objective and proposing a new definition that would put an end to the previous administration’s power grab.
Under the 2015 rule, more farmers, developers and landowners across the U.S. would need to apply for a federal permit to exercise control over their own property — a costly and time-consuming action that runs counter to our republican idea of government. Not only can the process to obtain a federal permit cost tens of thousands of dollars, but the 2015 definition also put local land use decisions in the hands of distant, unelected bureaucrats. The new, more precise definition means that farmers, land owners and businesses will spend less time and money determining whether they need a federal permit and more time upgrading aging infrastructure, building homes, creating jobs and growing crops to feed our families.
Read more here: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article222945575.html#storylink=cpy