Atlanta, Ga. (June 28, 2017): Chad Gregory, president and CEO of United Egg Producers, issued the following statement in response to the proposed rule, sent today to the Federal Register for public notice and comment, that would rescind the 2015 Waters of the US rulemaking:

“United Egg Producers applauds and supports the proposal issued today by the Administration to rescind the 2015 Clean Water Rule. That rule created an unprecedented and expansive definition of what are waters of the US, going far beyond what is needed to protect water quality in agricultural communities where our egg farmer-members live and work.

“UEP firmly believes that the 2015 rule would have forced egg farmers into undue legal and regulatory challenges for agricultural uses of land. This would only serve to raise costs and reduce productivity and efficiency, while providing no additional practical benefits to water quality. We will provide comments in support of rescinding this rule and will urge the Administration to finalize this proposal as soon as possible.

“Once the 2015 rule has been rescinded, UEP and its farmer-members look forward to the US EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers conducting a thoughtful and responsible rulemaking effort to craft a new definition for waters of the US that is consistent with the Clean Water Act and Congressional intent.

“Most importantly, any new rule should be able to fully protect water quality without creating overly
burdensome and unnecessary regulatory requirements.”