david.hendee@owh.com - Omaha World Herald
Hunters and anglers heard the horror stories.No more building duck blinds on private land without a costly and time-consuming permit.
No more firing over or near wetlands, ponds, lakes or rivers because even non-toxic shot would be considered a pollutant.
No more driving all-terrain vehicles to transport gear to off-road hunting or fishing spots without at least a special permit.
Farmers heard that a puddle of rainwater on their land would fall under control of federal bureaucrats.
But these perceived threats by a revitalized federal clean water law to sportsmens' cherished pastimes and farmers' routine farming operations are bogus, say conservationists.....
The Clean Water Act did not apply to gutters, puddles or other insignificant accumulations of water and neither would the new bill. The new act also preserves all existing agricultural exemptions under the law, such as for return flows and construction and maintenance of irrigation ditches and farm ponds. Read more
