[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3245-H3246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              WATER ISSUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Mann) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the importance of 
water and my concerns with the Biden administration's unnecessary 
overreach.
  We use water to sustain ourselves; for industrial manufacturing; for 
swimming and recreation with our family and friends; to bathe; and to 
produce the most affordable, abundant, and safe food supply in the 
world.
  Agriculture is the largest industry in Kansas' Big First District and 
across the State, so water conditions determine good or bad crop years, 
the amount of time livestock producers spend hauling water or moving 
cattle to land with a better pond, and ultimately, the kinds of foods 
that show up on the grocery store shelves across the country.
  In western and south-central Kansas, the Ogallala aquifer is the main 
source of water and represents the supply of one-third of the State of 
Kansas. The Ogallala covers about 175,000 square miles across eight 
States from South Dakota to Texas, making it the largest aquifer in the 
country and one of the largest in the world.
  At the beginning of the 20th century, States began pumping water from 
the Ogallala to irrigate the land for agricultural production use. In 
arid climates like western Kansas, irrigation transformed the Dust Bowl 
ridden region into the incredibly productive land that we see today. On 
average, Kansas has about three million irrigated acres with nearly 2.6 
million acres irrigated with water from the Ogallala and the rest of 
the High Plains aquifer. The Ogallala's groundwater is essential to our 
food supply, as it supports nearly one-fifth of all of the wheat, corn, 
cotton, and cattle produced in the United States.
  In 2018, when I was Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, we worked with the 
Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project to hold the first ever 
Ogallala Aquifer Summit in Garden City and gathered stakeholders from 
the eight States covering the aquifer to discuss the need to conserve 
water and sustain the Ogallala region's agriculture productivity over 
the long-term, adapting new technologies and voluntarily reducing water 
waste.
  Since then, producers like Lynn Goossen have made changes to their 
operations to reduce the amount of water they pump and protect 
Ogallala. Goossen Farms has shifted from irrigated corn to a wheat 
rotation, adapted conservation practices when applying fertilizer, 
and changed from flood to sprinkler irrigation. Understanding the 
depletion of the Ogallala caused Mr. Goossen to take on leadership 
within his Groundwater Management District and work with other 
producers to voluntarily use their water wisely.

  Efforts at the State level in Kansas through Groundwater Management 
Districts have also supported the sustainable use of the Ogallala 
aquifer where districts work with communities to set their own water 
conservation goals and control measures; develop plans to reduce water 
withdrawals in a designated area; and continue using water in a manner 
that is economically viable. The research from the Northwest Kansas 
Technical College Water Technology Farm has helped producers like Tim 
Franklin in Sherman County. The Franklin family farm was early to 
enroll in a Water Conservation Area, and uses the technology developed 
and tested at Northwest Tech to help meet their water reduction goals.
  These voluntary, locally led efforts to safeguard our water were 
supported during the Trump administration when they published a 
reasonable and clear definition of ``waters of the United

[[Page H3246]]

States'' in the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. This rule provided 
certainty for farmers and ranchers, and designated authority back to 
States to regulate their own waters after years of Federal overreach.
  Unfortunately, President Biden has once again determined that the 
Federal Government knows best and announced his intent to review the 
rule, likely signaling a return to the Obama administration's WOTUS 
rule, which sought to Federally regulate every small stream, ditch or 
puddle of water. This announcement is especially frustrating as many 
western States currently face an extreme drought, leading to a severe 
water shortage for not only our agriculture producers, but also 
drinking water and hydroelectric energy generators. Further regulation 
adds insult to injury.
  Producers and water users at the local level know their community 
best, which is why I joined several of my House colleagues on 
legislation that would codify the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and 
on a letter to President Biden stating our strong opposition to any 
return to the expanded Federal jurisdiction over waters around the 
country. I have also led legislation that would push back on executive 
overreach in our agriculture, energy, and natural resource sectors.
  Our farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists and 
continually update practices to reduce water use and inputs so that 
they can continue to produce safe, affordable food while maintaining 
their water supply for generations to come. We must provide certainty 
regarding their local water rights and continue to stand in opposition 
to any overreaching regulations that threaten the livelihoods of Kansas 
farmers and ranchers.

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