Ranchers, environmentalists on collision course in defining ‘waterway’

...It’s unclear what protections the state will make through what’s expected to be a years-long stakeholder process. What is known is some changes, like a pollution control permitting program, would need legislative approval. But Arizona Farm Bureau President Stefanie Smallhouse said DEQ is overstating the rule’s reach. “For the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to state that there will be many waters uncovered at this point is not true,” Smallhouse said, adding that her group has asked for maps of these ephemeral streams, which she said the department hasn’t provided.
DEQ said it can only provide an estimate for these waters and no such map exists yet, but the EPA is working to make one. The previous rule, Smallhouse said, required permitting for things that are “normal agricultural practices,” that can take up to two years. Smallhouse said the concerns from environmental groups are disingenuous and made with the intention of controlling land use, not protecting water. “In the farming, ranching business, you can’t wait two years to plant a crop or to raise livestock or, you know, to put in a pipeline to water your livestock,” Smallhouse said. “I shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer in order to determine whether changing my cropping in a field that’s adjacent to a dry wash is going to require a permit.”...MORE