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Indiana Senator says EPA should follow farmers lead

The debate over the Waters of the US rule isn’t over yet.  And the agriculture industry continues to voice its concern about potential overreaching regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly says EPA needs to follow the agriculture industry’s lead.  “That’s opposed to dictating from down on high down to us,” he says.  “Because in my lifetime our waters have never been cleaner and they have never been better.”

Donnelly tells Brownfield farmers want to take care of the land and the water – but it is also a matter of economics.  “Inputs are so expensive now – we need to keep them on the land,” he says.  “By keeping them there, farmers make more profit, land is in better shape, and water is in better shape.  So the EPA needs to understand we can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Donnelly spoke to the National Association of Conservation Districts Soil Health Forum in Indianapolis on Monday.

AUDIO: Senator Joe Donnelly, NACD (2:00mp3)