Assemblyman Christopher S. Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) is raising concerns regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) expansion of its Clean Water Act. The EPA’s new rules expand the type of water and wetlands regulated by the Clean Water Act.

“The federal government is overstepping its bounds once again, and it poses real danger to our farmers,” Friend said. “This broadening of powers will inevitably cost farmers money they don’t have to comply with ever-changing federal regulations. This is an infringement on the property rights of our farmers and all property owners. Farmers in the Southern Tier have enough to worry about without encroaching federal agencies forcing them to comply with a standard not previously applicable to them or relevant to the Southern Tier’s environmental impact.”