Land Smart Resources

CLEAN WATER RESTORATION ACT S. 787

The end result of this legislation could result in significant loss
of landowner rights and abilities to manage their property.

The Alabama Forestry Commission strongly recommends owners and interested citizens become aware of current versions of Senate Bill S 787 that will dramatically increase regulatory oversight of Federal Agencies including the Corps of Engineers and the EPA over private lands. The AFC ask all interested citizens make their informed opinions known to their elected officials.

Provisions and highlights of S 787

1. The potential for the loss of protection as provided in the original Clean Water Act of 1972 and as amended by Section 404 in 1977, which exempts normal farming, silviculture, and ranching practices from discharges that may occur from these operations as well as any need to get a permit for such practices.Bill S 787 replaces the discharge provision with language that could allow governmental oversight (regulating and permitting) for “activities that threaten” the waters of the US.

   If “actual discharge” is no longer the trigger and “activities” is used, the potential for a total circumvention of the provisions found in Section 404 is quite possible

2. The introduction of regulatory oversight for “geographically separated waters“.This language re-establishes the federal jurisdiction over almost all waters and wetlands in the US

   Taken to an extreme, this could mean if any activity “might” threaten features such mudflats, bogs, sloughs, potholes, wet meadows, etc., even if there were no discharge, regulatory oversight would be allowed and again, protection from Section 404 would be rendered useless

3. The addition of “ephemeral streams” will greatly complicate land management activitiesEphemeral streams by definition are only temporary and often very hard to actually ascertain

   Inclusion of the feature will certainly put additional pressures on logging and silvicultural operations adding costs to a struggling industry

4. The substitution of the term “navigable waters” with “waters of the US” again simply broadens and expands federal regulatory oversight well beyond current ruleAt this time multiple Associations are openly opposed to S 787. Some of these are: the National Association of Counties, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, and the American Forest and Paper Association.