Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973
E-mail: alra@pacifier.com
Web Address: http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE - Washington, DC 20003

Stop EPA,Corps From Removing "Navigable" From Clean Water Act

-----Keep the word "Navigable" in the Clean Water Act. EPA Corps of Engineers Wetlands Jurisdiction land and water grab. Don't let them eliminate the word "navigable" from the Clean Water Act.

Do You Want The EPA & Corps In Your Backyard?

Do you want EPA & Corps Wetlands jurisdiction over all forest roads, Federal lands and adjacent private and State lands? The forestry industry, farmers, ranchers, miners and many others will face the prospect of having all their roads become non-point sources of pollution. You would then have to go to EPA and Corps for permits for any road. That cannot be allowed to happen.

-----Urge Your Senators To Support The Barrasso "Preserve The Waters Of The US Act" when it is introduced by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) after the Easter break.

-----Also, Stop Sally Jewell from being confirmed by the Senate as the new Secretary of Interior. Your Senators will be home for the next couple of weeks. Call both your Senators at (202) 224-3121. See Jewell background below.

-----First ask for the staff member who handles the Sally Jewell Secretary of Interior nomination. Then ask to speak to the staff person who handles Wetlands, the EPA and Corps of Engineers.

-----You must deluge your Senators with calls about both Sally Jewell and the EPA and Corps who are trying to circumvent the "Navigable" requirement in the Clear Water Act.

-----If EPA and the Corps are successful in drilling around the Clean Water Act requirement that they only have jurisdiction over "Navigable" waters, they can gain jurisdiction over "all waters of the United States and all activities affecting all waters of the United States."

-----Background: EPA, Corps of Engineers Wetlands "Navigable"

A few days ago the Supreme Court reversed the 9th Circuit of Appeals Wetlands roads Court decision. The Court said timber roads are NOT non-point sources of pollution.

Why is this important to you? Because the Obama Administration was hoping to regulate all forest, Federal land, BLM, Forest Service and private roads as non-point sources of pollution requiring a permit from the EPA and Corps of Engineers.

Now the Obama gang is going ahead with their Wetlands Guidance Regulations from EPA and the Corps of Engineers.

You can Stop EPA and the Corps from doing an end run around
Congress and the Supreme Court on the Clean Water Act.

The EPA and Corps are trying to ignore the law, change it without Congressional approval, and impose regulations that will tie you up in red tape and bureaucracy for years.

Why is the word "Navigable" so important to you?

From the American Farm Bureau:

One little word can mean so much. In relation to the Clean Water Act, that word is "navigable," and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers are trying to get rid of it. If they succeed, EPA will have the authority to regulate nearly every drop of water, and some dry land, too.

With this additional authority for EPA comes a likely deluge of regulations and permitting requirements for farmers, ranchers and other landowners. This is why the American Farm Bureau Federation has launched the "Stop the Flood of Regulation" campaign.

Farmers unite to limit EPA regulations -
American Farm Bureau Federation

EPA and the Corps are poised to finalize what's known as a "guidance" document that would greatly expand EPA's limited authority to write rules governing the protection of navigable waters. "Right now, EPA's regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act is basically restricted to larger bodies of water and waterways that feed into those larger bodies," explained Don Parrish, AFBF water quality specialist.

"If the guidance document goes into effect, EPA officials would have the power to regulate even a roadside ditch that fills with water only after a good soaking, like Tropical Depression Debby."

Farmers, ranchers and landowners are up in arms about the guidance document for numerous reasons. The guidance document flies in the face of Supreme Court rulings that affirmed important limitations on the federal government's jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

By forcing this change through a guidance document, rather than through the appropriate rule-making regulatory process, farmers and ranchers have no formal way to tell EPA how its actions will affect how they farm and ranch, or if they will be able to do it at all, once the guidance document is in place.

As part of Farm Bureau's "Stop the Flood of Regulation" campaign, farmers and ranchers are urging their senators and representatives to pass the Preserve the Waters of the U.S. Act (S 2245 and HR 4965), which would prevent EPA from using the guidance document.

They are also communicating with officials at EPA, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, USDA and anyone else in the administration who needs to hear about how devastating this guidance document could be to agriculture.

"Because we're dealing with a guidance document, rather than a proposed regulation, farmers and ranchers can't work through traditional regulatory input channels the way they normally would, which makes getting the message to Capitol Hill and the administration through e-mails and phone calls all the more important," said Cody Lyon, AFBF director of grassroots and advocacy. "But they're not stopping there."

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Don't let EPA and Corps get away get with going around Congress and the Supreme Court on Clean Water Act jurisdiction.

American Land Rights Action Items:

-----1. Please forward this message to at least 10 other people. You're whole list if possible.

-----2. Call both your Senators at (202) 224-3121. Urge your Senators to support Senator Barrasso (R-WY) (Preserve The Waters Of The US bill) when it is introduced in the Senate after the Easter Break. The Senate and the House Western Caucus both support this bill.

Support the Barrasso "Preserve The Waters Of The US" bill that would stop the EPA and Corps from removing the "Navigable" limit from the Clean Water Act.

The Senate and House can do this by cutting off the funds for EPA and Corps to go forward with their Wetlands Guidance Regulations. Call and get both your Senators schedule in the Easter Break in your state. Any Senator may be called at (202) 224-3121. Try to go to any meetings they have scheduled.

-----3. Call your Congressman to get his or her schedule in your district for the Easter Break and beyond. Call even if you do not plan to go to a meeting or town hall. Be sure to alert your neighbors and friends about any meetings. Call any Congressman at (202) 225-3121.

-----4. Send e-mail or fax to your Congressman and both Senators.
Only put one issue in each letter, fax or e-mail. You can send more than one letter, fax or e-mail.

Key Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee - Republicans - All Senators can be reached at (202) 224-3121. Note: When sending e-mail to these staff members below, they have an underscore between their first and last name. There is no underline in the e-mail address, just the underscore.

ALEXANDER, LAMAR (TN), Staff: ryan_loskarn@alexander.senate.gov -- fax: 202-228-3398

BARRASSO JOHN (WY), Brian Clifford, brian_Clifford@barrasso.senate.gov -- fax: -202-224-1724

COBURN, TOM (OK), Staff: brian_treat@coburn.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-6008

COLLINS, SUSAN (ME), Staff: mary_dietrich@collins.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-2693

CORKER, BOB (TN), Staff: todd_womack@corker.senate.gov-- fax: 202-228-0566

CRAPO, MICHAEL (ID), Staff: susan_wheeler@crapo.senate.gov -- fax: 202-228-1375

ENZI, MICHAEL (WY), Staff: -- flip_mcconnaughey@enzi.senate.gov fax: 202-228-0359

FLAKE, JEFF (AZ), Staff: steve_voeller@flake.senate.gov -- fax: 202-228-0515

GRAHAM, LINDSEY (SC), Staff: richard_perry@lgraham.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-3808

HATCH, ORRIN (UT), Staff: michael_kennedy@hatch.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-6331

HELLER, DEAN (NV), Staff: mac_abrams@heller.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-6244

HOEVEN, JOHN (ND), Staff: ryan_bernstein@hoeven.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-7999

INHOFE, JAMES (OK), Staff: ryan_jackson@inhofe.senate.gov-- fax: 202-228-0380

LEE, MIKE (UT), Staff: spencer_stokes@lee.senate.gov -- fax: 202-228-1168

MCCAIN, JOHN (AZ), Staff: nick_matiella@mccain.senate.gov -- fax: 202-228-2862

MURKOWSKI, LISA (AK), Staff: edward_hild@murkowski.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-5301
karen_bilups@energy.senate.gov

PORTMAN, ROB (OH), Staff: rob_lehman@portman.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-9558

RISCH, JAMES (ID), Staff: john_sandy@risch.senate.gov -- fax: 202-224-2753

SCOTT, TIM (SC), Staff: rich_dunn@scott.senate.gov-- fax: 202-228-1048

THUNE, JOHN (SD), Staff: ryan_nelson@thune.senate.gov-- fax: 202-228-5429

VITTER, DAVID (LA), Staff: kyle_ruckert@vitter.senate.gov -- fax: 202-228-5061

SCOTT, TIM (SC) (Newly appointed). Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to reach his office. Ask for the person who handles the Sally Jewell nomination. If no one has taken that position yet, as for the Chief of Staff. Ask for their e-mail address. You can fax Senator Scott at (202) 228-5143. His personal phone number is (202) 224-6121.

Easter Break is a big opportunity for you. Don't miss out. Take action now.

Chuck Cushman
American Land Rights
(360) 687-3087 - ccushman@pacifier.com

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