Just The Beginning

Here at CFACT we have lined out the catastrophic effects of the EPA’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulations several times. To quickly recap, it vastly expands the federal government’s authority on regulating waterways in the United States. Instead of navigable waters, it gives the feds the power to regulate ponds, puddles and streams. The EPA is eager to test it’s boundaries on these new rules. Doubt it?

Andy Johnson, a farmer from Fort Bridger, Wyoming, set up a stock pond on his property by damming up Six Mile Creek. Stock ponds are exempt from the Clean Water Act, and the creek runs through Mr. Johnson’s property. But the EPA doesn’t seem to care, and has slapped the Johnson family with fines of $37,500 per day. Certainly more than most of us make in a month. They have racked up to $16 million.

The EPA has tried to justify its actions by explaining that Six Mile Creek is a tributary of the Green River, which is itself a navigable waterway. The bureaucrats have also cited the stock pond itself as being made with pollutants. Those pollutants are gravel, clay, and concrete. Hide the kids!

Thankfully, Andy Johnson has not backed down. He is fighting the overreaching feds and trying to save his farm and his family’s way of life by filing a challenge to the EPA’s decision.

This is a farmer simply trying to make a living and feed his family. Why has the EPA singled him out? It is obvious that the agency is trying to see what it can get away with in exploring its new found power. And why are the fines $16 million?? If the EPA wins, it will get the Johnsons to remove the stock pond, and also cause a family to go into bankruptcy. Talk about crazy.