California Farm Bureau applauds Supreme Court WOTUS decision

California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson is applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision rejecting the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States Rule.

“California Farm Bureau appreciates the Supreme Court’s decision,” Johansson said. “Our farmers and ranchers have faced years of confusion over what waters are regulated by the federal government. Today’s decision brings greater clarity.”

The court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency reins in the EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate water bodies on private properties.

In a majority opinion, the court wrote that under the Biden administration’s rule, landowners “potentially face severe criminal and civil penalties” even for accidentally discharging pollutants into navigable waters.

“Agriculture is intrinsically tied to the earth,” Johansson said. “Our farmers and ranchers have a strong interest in effective, efficient and reasonable rules for the protection and management of the nation’s water and land resources.”

The California Farm Bureau works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of nearly 29,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of 5.3 million Farm Bureau members.