Republicans line up at Lewis & Clark water trough

The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) legislation seeks to give authority to the US Environmental Protection Agency to use some teeth to enforce the rights of people downstream to have clean water even from some sources that the US Geological Survey has already identified as impaired. 

Yet, South Dakota's dairies are wreaking habitat havoc all along the state's borders with Republican strongholds in southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa where dairies, swine units and other concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have devastated water supplies by contaminating wells with nitrates. 

Now, because of environmental decimation driven by CAFOs officials with the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System (LCRWS) want to expand output even though water levels in the Missouri River and its basin are at historic lows. Nevertheless, Executive Director of the Lewis & Clark water system Troy Larson thanked the Biden administration for the nearly $22 million appropriation to expand even deeper into Republican territory.

"The $21.914 million was from the congressionally directed spending requests made by Senators John Thune, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Rounds and Tina Smith. Strong support for increased funding was also provided by Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, as well as Representatives Dusty Johnson, Randy Feenstra, Michelle Fischbach and the late Jim Hagedorn. We cannot thank these four senators enough for including Lewis & Clark in their congressional directed spending requests, as well as to the entire tristate congressional delegation for going to bat for us once again,” Larson said. [Bill Jankow's idea of public radio]

The Lewis and Clark water system enables ecocide. Instead of empowering communities to harvest snowmelt and rainwater rural communities continue to be dependent on politicians who exploit need. 

Yes, socialized agriculture, socialized dairies, socialized cheese, socialized livestock production, a socialized timber industry, socialized air service, socialized freight rail, a socialized nursing home industry, a socialized internet, socialized gas well remediation and now a socialized water system are all fine with Republicans in South Dakota but then they insist single-payer medical insurance is socialized medicine.

Below average runoff continues for the upper #MissouriRiver Basinhttps://t.co/1doQUujciR@OmahaUSACE @KC_USACE @NWSMBRFC @NWSCPC

— NWD USACE (@NWDUSACE) March 3, 2022