(Madison County, NY – Feb. 15, 2016) The Madison County Farm Bureau applauds the County Board of Supervisors for taking action against a 2015 ruling that threatens farms and strips local control over land use decisions within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. They have joined 21 states, 39 members of Congress and a group of counties supporting the American Farm Bureau Federation’s legal challenge asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling approving the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The ruling gives the Environmental Protection Agency far reaching powers that dramatically alters the balance of federal versus state and local power under the Clean Water Act.
“We are certainly in favor of achieving a healthy Chesapeake Bay and the practices that our farmers within the watershed area have put in place do just that,” said Madison County Farm Bureau President Darrell Griff. “This ‘blueprint’ sets such strict federal limits for local land uses such as farming, forestry and development, it threatens farmer’s abilities to continue to farm while posing potentially harmful economic implications for so many communities.”
In December, recognizing the extreme consequences of being stripped of the local authority, the Madison County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to join the amicus brief supporting the AFBF’s petition appealing to the Supreme Court. In the resolution authorizing participation, the Board of Supervisors cited the national importance of the issues at stake and the last opportunity to restore the Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts with a measure of state and local autonomy.
“The Madison County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved filing the amicus brief to support our partners at the New York Farm Bureau in battling the overreach of the EPA regulations on our farmers, businesses and municipalities and others,” said Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John M. Becker.
“I applaud the Board of Supervisors for taking action, standing up for our farms while fighting to protect their rights to make the decisions that are best for Madison County,” said Griff.