This ruling is welcome news for North Dakota producers, particularly in light of the wet conditions many of us have been facing for the last six years.
Wet spots are abundant in the state, as is waterfowl.
Nowhere in the Clean Water Act did Congress intend for the Corps to become a super-zoning land use body, which could easily have happened if the Corps had been successful in its argument. Land use matters are traditionally subject to local control, and Farm Bureau believes that these matters should remain that way. It is in the best interest of not only our farmers and ranchers, but our cities and our state, as well. We applaud the U.S. Supreme Court for its ruling. The court agreed with assertions in a brief filed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the North Dakota Farm Bureau and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, that the Corps' jurisdiction was without authority under the Clean Water Act.