Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt visited rural Missourians, April 20, 2017, at the Thomas Hill Energy Center in Clifton Hill, Mo. The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives hosted the event, which also featured U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and all major agricultural organizations.

“It is fitting that the farm and ranch families we represent stand alongside the rural electric cooperatives because we are their customers,” said Missouri Cattlemen’s Association (MCA) Vice President Bobby Simpson, who attended the event. “On top of that, we’ve all been in the same fight the last eight years. The EPA opted to overreach its authority by promulgating rules and regulations that stomp all over private property rights and stifle economic activity in rural Missouri.”

Simpson said MCA members in attendance were encouraged by the Administrator’s comments. The talk of repealing the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule created a sense of optimism, according to Simpson. EPA Administrator Pruitt said the agency is going to “stay in its lane.”

“WOTUS was all about power. It was all about decision-making being concentrated in Washington, D.C. It was about land use decisions being made by Washington, D.C. as opposed to the states and those who are actually private property owners, said EPA Administrator Pruitt. “The EPA is no longer going to be an agency that engages in power over water decisions at the state level. EPA is going to stay in its lane and that process has begun.”

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), said, “President Trump and Administrator Pruitt have wasted no time in dismantling two of the most excessive and harmful Obama administration regulations, the Waters of the United States Rule and the Clean Power Plan. I appreciated the opportunity to welcome Administrator Pruitt to Missouri to hear firsthand about the devastating impact these rules would have on energy producers, farmers, ranchers, and, most importantly, Missouri families. The Trump administration is keeping its promise to the American people to rein in red tape and promote a true all-of-the-above energy policy, and I will continue supporting that effort.”