Domina: “Producers be wary! The EPA rule does not apply to most in ag.”

(OCT. 22)—“The EPA’s proposed rule implementing the U.S. Supreme Court’s definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ is distorted, misrepresented, and abused. This happens for both political and impure commercial reasons.”

U.S. Senate Candidate Dave Domina, a well-known Nebraska lawyer with strong ties to the state’s livestock and grain producers, issued these cautions on Wednesday.

“Politically, the expedient thing to do is bash the EPA,” he said. “Television and radio talk shows promote this kind of bashing every day.”

Domina said he refuses to take that road.

“Producers deserve to know what is true. I spent much of my life trying to help farmers and ranchers work through their legal problems. Misrepresenting the EPA rule would get them into legal trouble, not out of it!”

The EPA itself has clearly stated that virtually all current agricultural practices are exempt from the proposed Rule. The EPA’s “Ditch the Myth” website is devoted specifically to debunking falsehoods about the rule. The website shows commonplace false statements about the proposed EPA rule beside the rule’s actual text.

“It is seen as expedient politics to bash the Administration in Washington,” Domina said. “The EPA is a whipping boy, but the whipping being done is simply not based in truth.”

Domina fears that false information is being fed by consulting organizations hoping to sell their services.

“Too many consultants may want to provide environmental advice and more agronomic services. I fear producers will be cajoled into spending large sums of money unnecessarily. This may bring them under administrative scrutiny that is avoidable, but it will not produce compliance with a rule that does not even apply.”