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A new report urges federal policy makers to reverse the decline in resources and staff for federal statistics agencies. (J Studios/Getty Images)

Federal agencies that count jobs, measure incomes, track health information and provide countless other forms of data are under unprecedented strain, according to a new report — compounding years of neglect by Congress and the federal government.

The report, released Wednesday by the American Statistical Association, calls on the federal government to reverse course, bolstering support for the national statistics infrastructure with staff, expertise and resources. It’s part of an ongoing project by the association to monitor the work of federal statistics agencies.

“In combination, we are seeing the system approach a crisis point unless immediate action is taken by Congress and the Executive Branch to reform the current trajectory,” the report states.

It’s a call that state and local officials say matters to them as well.

“It  might make people’s eyes glaze over, but for 235 years, we’ve understood the value of using federal data in particular,” said Zach Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. “This has been an underpinning of how this country has been built and the resources we use to understand not only where we’ve been but where we’re headed.”

Federal data informed a 2019 think tank report that found Wisconsin was uniquely poised to become a national hub for biomedical research and development, Brandon said. That conclusion culminated in the state’s selection for a biohealth technology hub under a program included in the 2022 federal CHIPS and Science Act.

He considers accurate data not just a record of the past, but an assist to forecasting the future — “a flashlight that helps you see the challenges and the opportunities before they just become anecdotes.”

Brandon is skeptical that the private sector can provide an adequate substitute. “Even if it could be as robust, we likely couldn’t afford it,” he said.

Resources needed, report finds

The statistical association’s report states that for federal agencies to produce accurate data promptly that can be trusted, they need expert staff and enough resources for now and the future.

Instead, however, federal budgets have shortchanged them for years, it states. The Trump administration is proposing more of the same in its 2026 budget, with cuts to all 13 of the federal statistical agencies, the report warns.

“Immediate action must be taken to halt the severe decline in the federal statistical agencies’ ability to meet their basic mission and be positioned to keep up with increasing information needs and to address uncertainty in the trustworthiness of federal statistics,” the report states.

The 43-day federal shutdown that began Oct. 1 and ended Nov. 12 was an especially dramatic gap in data collection — among other things, for the monthly national and state jobs reports.

“People rely on reliable, consistent and timely data from the federal government when they make decisions,” said Haley McCoy, communications director for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, which produces Wisconsin’s reports drawing on surveys conducted by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Whether a business owner is considering opening a new plant or shutting one down, “they need to have the most robust information that they can have to make a solid decision,” McCoy said. “It’s like taking the boat out on the water without looking at the weather forecast.”

That data was missing for the month of September because the shutdown began before the federal report could be completed, and the October data was never collected. DWD will post the state’s September numbers Wednesday — two months behind schedule.

“Those are the last statewide numbers that will come out this year,” McCoy said. “The most recent data we have are three months old.”

The next releases will come in January — November jobs numbers early in the month and December numbers later. But the October numbers are unlikely to be produced or posted ever, she said.

Long funding decline

The statistical association report documents declining fiscal support for federal statistical agencies over the last 15 years — suffering losses of 16% or more in real dollars since 2009, while facing new mandates from Congress.

Most agencies have also lost 20% to 30% of their staff, the report finds — from senior managers with important statistical knowledge to specialized data scientists and experts in methods that ensure greater accuracy.

The report finds that the Trump administration’s actions that have weakened the statistical agencies outweigh actions that would support them.

The administration has left leadership positions vacant, disrupted operations by relocating or attempting to relocate agencies, and eliminated some data collection projects unilaterally without consulting Congress, the public or stakeholders.

That’s coupled with deteriorating safeguards for the integrity of federal data. “In several cases, delays in releasing key data and administration officials’ statements questioning agencies’ neutrality have raised concerns about the protections for credible, objective statistics,” the report states.

Public trust of federal statistics has plummeted, according to the report. A University of Chicago survey found that among U.S. adults, trust in federal statistics fell from 57% in June to 52% in September.

Increased support recommended

The report makes a series of recommendations — for increased staffing, support for innovation, stable and sufficient funding for statistical agencies to fulfill their mission under federal law and systematic management of the agencies and their work, as well as other changes.

It also calls on the administration and Congress to strengthen public trust, including ensuring the data collected for statistical purposes isn’t used for law enforcement or to impose regulations.

At DWD, according to McCoy, there have not yet been concerns about the accuracy or reliability of the federal data it relies on, such as for state job reports.

“We trust how the data is collected,” she said. “It goes through rigorous checks for accuracy.”

But concerns remain about gaps in the data as some collection projects — such as  a report on food security — get turned off, McCoy said.

Steve Pierson, the statistical association’s director of science policy, told the Wisconsin Examiner Tuesday that so far data from the government has continued to be trustworthy.

“We believe that the federal statistics being issued are absolutely still objective and credible,” Pierson said. “What would really help, though, is comments to that effect from the administration.”

Pierson said he believes there are reasons for hope even in the face of grave concerns about the nation’s statistical resources.

Congressional budget writers have rejected the Trump administration’s proposals to cut budgets for the BLS and the National Center for Education Statistics — the latter of which the administration proposed virtually eliminating, he observed.

Key staffers in Congress “hear our concerns, and they share that they’re also concerned,” Pierson said. “That is encouraging.”

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The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) announced two bylaw updates, including a sunsetting of the School Bus Manufacturers Technical Council (SBMTC), “as it no longer adequately represents the Supplier Council membership.”

Formed as a subsidiary of the NASDPTS Supplier Council, SBMTC had two representatives on the National Congress on School Transportation steering committee. It was as a technical advisor on issues related to school bus manufacturing and safety and provided a forum for manufacturers to address technical and governmental relations issues concerning the production and acceptability of school bus chassis and bodies. SBMTC also contributed to national safety standards, such as those developed by NCST.

No timetable was given for its dissolution.

The other approved change to the bylaws was the prevention of the NASDPTS president or president-elect from also simultaneously serving as the National Congress on School Transportation Chair or Vice Chair. NASDPTS President Mike Stier said in a letter to state directors and Supplier Council members Tuesday that this is due “to the volume of work required by both leadership positions.”

NASDPTS also updated its Board of Directors, announcing that Wyoming state director Trenton Vonburg chose not to run for re-election as secretary this year. Instead, Fred Steward, the new Colorado state director, will take on that role.

Mike Bulman, the South Carolina State Director, was elected to his second term as Southern Region Representative. Chris Kath, the Indiana state director is also going on his second term as the Central Region Representative. And Dave Christopher, the New York Association of Pupil Transportation executive director, is serving his first term as State Transportation Associations Council chair.

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Related: NHTSA Rulemaking at Heart of NCST Resolutions Focused on Safety
Related: National Congress Finishes Early After 10-Year Hiatus
Related: 6 Students Killed in Danger Zone, All by School Buses
Related: Circuit Court Orders Stay of FMCSA Rule on Non-Domiciled CDL Holders
Related: NHTSA Investigates Autonomous Waymo Rides After Illegal School Bus Passing

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NASDPTS also announced the 2026 Annual Conference will be held Nov. 15-17 at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia.

“Holding the NASDPTS Conference in the Washington, D.C., area affords us the opportunity to hear first-hand from our federal agency partners, but also provides an excellent venue for us to come together, as an association, to get to know one another and to discuss the issues facing the school transportation industry every day,” said NASDPTS President-Elect and Conference Chair Tyler Bryan, of Delaware. “We thank our incredibly generous sponsors as this meeting is simply not possible without them.”

The post NASDPTS Sunsets School Bus Manufacturers Technical Council, Announces Updates appeared first on School Transportation News.

Federal agents, including members of the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol, and police, attempt to keep protesters back outside a downtown U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Oct. 4, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Members of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee decried violence against law enforcement, but seemed to make little headway in identifying how to address the issue during a Wednesday hearing that often saw each party harshly blame the other.

Chairman Andrew Garbarino of New York, at his first hearing since taking over as for the retired Mark Green of Tennessee, sought to strike an even tone in an opening statement, condemning violence against police while noting that officers have a responsibility to maintain the public’s trust.

“Law enforcement personnel are public servants, not public figures. They stepped forward to safeguard our nation and uphold the laws enacted by this body,” Garbarino said. “But that alone does not absolve them from facing any form of accountability. Public trust and public safety go hand in hand.” 

Other members of the panel, though, were less even-handed, with Democrats strongly criticizing some tactics used by federal law enforcement officers under President Donald Trump and Republicans denouncing such criticism as fueling violence against police.

Several members of the panel, of both parties, acknowledged the two West Virginia National Guard members shot in a Nov. 26 alleged ambush in Washington, D.C.

Police witnesses denounce Nazi comparisons

Witnesses from three police organizations, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, largely agreed that heightened rhetoric about law enforcement activity was a danger to their members.

“The rhetoric coming from the top, calling officers Nazis and Gestapo, it better stop right now,” Jonathan Thompson, the executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said. 

“You are inflaming dangerous circumstances. You’re attacking people that wake up every single day and do one thing: they put on their uniforms, they put on their star and… enforce the laws of this country.”

Daniel Hodges, a D.C. Metropolitan Police officer who responded to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and who Democrats invited to testify to the panel as a private citizen Wednesday, said protocol of federal officers under Trump invited the comparison.

“There is a semi-secret police force abducting people based on the color of their skin and sending many of them via state-sponsored human trafficking to extraterritorial concentration camps,” he said. 

“Before we go around the room clutching our pearls, wondering how people could possibly compare law enforcement in this country to the Gestapo, maybe we should take a moment and ask ourselves if there isn’t some recent behavior on the government’s part that could encourage such juxtaposition,” Hodges said.

Patrick Yoes, the national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said violence against officers was a nonpartisan issue.

“My members are both Democrat and Republican,” he said. “And we’re all having the same problem.”

ICE under microscope

Several Democrats said the tactics used by officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, undermined their law enforcement mission and endangered them, while Republicans blamed that rhetoric for making police targets.

New York Democrat Daniel Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, objected to Thompson’s testimony that police officers “put on their uniforms.”

“The problem is that’s not the case,” Goldman said. “They don’t put on a uniform, they don’t wear identification, and they go out with masks on to — violently in many cases — arrest unsuspecting immigrants, non-violent, many of whom are actually here legally.”

Goldman said as a federal prosecutor he worked with DHS officers “who represented the very, very best of our country.” But under Trump, the department’s behavior had grown irresponsible, he said.

Illinois Democrat Delia Ramirez went further, calling DHS “the single biggest threat to public safety right now.”

“They use anonymity to terrorize our communities and to violate our rights,” she said. “They reject accountability. They disregard court orders and they violate consent decrees. Bottom line: DHS agents lie. They act with impunity. They reject checks and balances, and they ignore Congress and the courts.”

GOP defends DHS

Republicans on the panel deflected blame from DHS and drew a direct line from the rhetoric of some Democrats opposed to ICE’s tactics to physical attacks on law enforcement.

Tennessee Republican Andy Ogles said Ramirez’s comment “pisses me off” and characterized DHS agents as carrying out the rule of law.

“This is about the rhetoric against law enforcement, violence against law enforcement,” Ogles said. “This isn’t about ICE. This isn’t about deportations, or the (Homeland Security) secretary doing her job, securing the border and deporting those who are here illegally.”

Rep. Eli Crane, an Arizona Republican, played a video showing Rep LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat who also sits on the panel, confronting ICE agents at a detention facility in her district.

“What do you think it means to people that are out there watching and listening, watching social media, watching the news, and they see a member of Congress who sits on this committee go out there and behave like that?” Crane asked the witnesses.

Thompson answered he was “appalled.”

“Quite honestly, I find it reprehensible, and it’s obviously dangerous,” he said.

McIver said she had been doing her job to provide oversight.

Jan. 6 pardons at issue

Democrats also cited Trump’s pardons of people convicted of crimes as part of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as condoning violence against law enforcement.

McIver suggested committee Republicans were hypocritical in condemning some anti-police rhetoric while staying silent or praising Trump’s decision to pardon Jan.6 rioters.

“It is not Democrats who are praising, let alone pardoning, people who stormed this very Capitol complex to beat police officers and hunt down elected officials,” she said.

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• Eve Galanter created the Wisconsin Civics Games as a way to get high school students civically engaged.
  
• The quiz-show style contest first held in 2019 has been coordinated by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and has grown annually. 
  
• The competition has gotten to be such a large endeavor that WNA leaders asked the Universities of Wisconsin to take the reins. 
  
• The contest fits with the university system’s strategic plan, and Galanter is excited to see how the games expand in the coming years. 

It’s been nearly a decade since Eve Galanter, a retired teacher and reporter in Madison, read the news story that led her to start a statewide competition to get high schoolers excited about government. 

Galanter, now 84, had just read a Wisconsin State Journal article headlined “All three school board incumbents running unopposed.”

“I looked at that and I thought, ‘Are they really doing such a fabulous job, or is no one interested? Does no one have any idea what might be involved in being on a school board or a city council or a village or town board?”

Running unopposed is a modern norm in some Wisconsin public offices. Across the state’s 10 most populous counties, less than a quarter of races for county board supervisor were contested in 2020, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

Studies show a growing number of people in the United States and across the world can’t answer basic questions about how the government works. U.S. schools cut back on civics education decades ago. In Wisconsin, students can graduate high school without taking a single course on the subject, though they must pass a civics test.

For two years Galanter mulled ways to get more Wisconsinites interested in running for local office. She settled on a quiz game where high school students across the state would test their knowledge of democracy and rights for the chance to win college scholarships.  

“If people understood how government worked, then surely they would be more interested in public service as a future occupation,” said Galanter, who served on the Madison City Council, ran former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl’s Madison office and used to open all her public presentations with the same line: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

In 2018, she pitched her idea to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, a membership organization of the state’s papers, figuring their publications could get the word out across the state.

The association agreed, and the Wisconsin Civics Games were born. Soon staff were making plans for regional playoffs and a state final at the Capitol where members of the winning team would each receive $2,000 in scholarships. 

Since then, teams from 76 high schools have competed, and interest continues to grow. This year’s regional playoffs, held in April, drew 205 students — twice as many as the first year. 

The competition has grown so much, in fact, that it’s too big for the five staff members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to handle. They’re now handing the reins to the Universities of Wisconsin, which has sponsored the event since its inception.

“It needs to continue to grow, but … it’s a really big project,” said Beth Bennett, executive director of the association. “We just needed to find a home for it where somebody could take it to the next level.” 

The games will be overseen by the university system’s Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue, which will soon become the Office of Civic Engagement, said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. Separately, that office will host civic education workshops for teachers across the state over the next three years, funded by a $1.1 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s American History & Civics Seminars program.

“This is consistent with our strategic plan focusing on freedom of expression, civil dialogue and really having students learn more about civics, which is important to our state and our nation,” Rothman said of taking the lead on the games. “So we are really excited about this opportunity.”

‘A republic, if you can keep it’

In preparation for the first Wisconsin Civics Games, Galanter pulled out a legal pad and began jotting questions. “What are the five freedoms identified in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?” “In 1982, Wisconsin was the first state to outlaw what type of discrimination?”

By the time she was done, she had over 100. 

Then she called school principals across the state to urge them to field teams. She contacted presidents of University of Wisconsin campuses to ask them to host playoffs. 

When students began registering, she looked up their local legislators to encourage them to congratulate the constituents and send them a Wisconsin Blue Book. She even wrote to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to ask her to speak at the finals.

“Her scheduler said that she was busy for the next several years,” Galanter said with a laugh, but the Justice agreed to send a letter congratulating the contestants.

“I strongly believe that the future of our nation depends upon your ability to practice democratic principles as thoughtful, informed citizens and public servants,” Sotomayor wrote. 

Sotomayor went on to recount the story of Benjamin Franklin leaving the Constitutional Convention in 1787, where he had just helped draft the new U.S. Constitution. 

“Benjamin Franklin was asked what sort of government he and his fellow framers had created. Dr. Franklin famously replied, ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’ By working to expand your civic knowledge in preparation for this tournament, you have begun the important undertaking of keeping our republic strong and vibrant,” Sotomayor wrote.

Galanter knew the games were a success when she overheard a comment from a participant at one of the regional playoffs that first year.

“One of the students said, ‘I’m going to go home and tell my parents about this,’” Galanter recalled. “I just thought that was the most wonderful thing: that they were so excited and wanted to share this opportunity.” 

The need for civics education persists today, though studies suggest Americans may be getting more knowledgeable. Each year, the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania asks Americans about the Constitution and the government. In 2022, just 47% could name all three branches of the U.S. government and a full 25% couldn’t name one. Three years later, 70% of Americans could name all three, and just 13% couldn’t name one.

New home, same games

Galanter recently filled a box with the materials and questions she’d prepared for past games and sent it off to Rothman.

“I am so excited that the Universities of Wisconsin will be taking the games to yet a higher level,” Galanter told Wisconsin Watch. She hopes the fact that the universities already have connections with high schools statewide will mean more students will hear about “the opportunities to undertake keeping our republic strong and vibrant.”

The behind-the-scenes shuffling won’t change things for contestants. Teams interested in the 2026 games can register for free through March 1 to compete and receive study materials. Regional playoffs will be held online April 8-9, and the finals, which are open to the public, will be held on May 1. For more information, visit wnanews.com/wisconsin-civics-games.

But while no changes are planned for the 2026 games, at least one could be coming in the future. When the games returned in 2022 after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the regional playoffs moved online. Rothman hopes they might eventually return to UW campuses. 

“I’m sure, as things go along, we will look for ways to continue to improve and upgrade the competition, but it’s a terrific competition today,” said Rothman, who attended the finals in May. 

“You see the engagement of those high school students, and you talk to them and you find out what their future plans are and the amount of work that they have put in, along with their faculty advisors,” Rothman said. 

“You can see it in those students’ eyes: They’re going to be active and engaged in their communities going forward, and that’s good for all of us.”

How a Madison woman’s question sparked a growing statewide civics contest is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Farmworkers gather produce near Hemet, Calif. The Trump administration is making it easier for farmers to employ guest workers from other countries. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

In a tacit admission that U.S. food production requires foreign labor, the Trump administration is making it easier for farmers to employ guest workers from other countries.

At the same time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent months appears to be refraining from conducting agricultural workplace raids, even as it scours Democratic-led cities for immigrants who are in the country illegally.

“We really haven’t seen agriculture targeted with worksite enforcement efforts, and early this year we did,” said Julia Gelatt, associate director of U.S. immigration policy at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

The shifts come as many Americans are concerned about the rising cost of food, creating political problems for a president who campaigned on lowering them. Last week, the administration also announced it would lift tariffs on some foreign food products, including bananas, beef, coffee and tomatoes.

To ease labor shortages on farms and ranches, the administration last month made changes to the federal H-2A visa program, which allows employers to hire foreign workers for temporary agricultural jobs when there aren’t enough U.S.-born workers available. Under the new rule, the Department of Homeland Security will approve H-2A visas more quickly.

“Our immigration system has been broken for decades, and we finally have a President who is enforcing the law and prioritizing fixing programs farmers and ranchers rely on to produce the safest and most productive food supply in the world,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in an email to Stateline.

But the move to increase the supply of foreign agricultural workers conflicts with a July statement by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that “the promise to America, to ensure that we have a 100% American workforce, stands.”

Rollins also said the administration was committed to the mass deportation of immigrants who are here illegally, but that it would be “strategic so as not to compromise our food supply.” Ultimately, she said, the solution would be increased automation of agricultural jobs.

The government has issued about 420,000 H-2A visas for agricultural workers every year since 2023, which amounts to about half of the 812,000 agricultural worker jobs. They are concentrated in states that grow fruits and vegetables as opposed to grains, which are increasingly planted and harvested using machines. The government expects an additional 119,000 visas to be issued under the new rule.

Almost half the H-2A visas in the 2025 fiscal year were in Florida (60,000), Georgia (44,000), California (37,000), Washington state (36,000) and North Carolina (28,000).

Lower wages

The new H-2A rule also includes new hourly wage guidelines that vary by state but are lower than previous wages, and allows employers to charge workers for housing that used to be free. In North Carolina, for instance, the new rate is $11.09 for unskilled workers compared with $16.16 last year. In California, the rate is $13.45 for unskilled workers compared with $19.97 last year, though minimum wage laws in California and some other states would apply to those jobs, according to a Cornell University analysis.

In North Carolina, farmers are looking forward to lower labor costs, said Lee Wicker, deputy director of the North Carolina Growers Association, a trade association that brought 11,000 guest workers to the state through the H-2A guest worker program last year.

“If you think farmers are making more money in these conditions, you’re wrong. They’re going broke,” Wicker said. Workers will take a pay cut under new guidelines and will have to pay for housing, but that may help farmers stave off bankruptcy, he said.

“I’m not saying the workers are going to be happy about this, but I think they’ll come back. Wages have gone down before and they kept coming,” he added.

Jeffrey Dorfman, an agricultural and resource economics professor at North Carolina State University, said the changes will be a boon to the state’s farmers.

“The move to lower the H-2A wages by the Trump administration will be very well received by growers in North Carolina and will save farmers tens of millions of dollars statewide,” Dorfman said. “For many farmers, it will turn money-losing crops into money-making crops, if prices stay about where they are now.”

Unionized California farmworkers are opposed to the pay cuts and loss of free housing in the new guest worker visa plan, said Antonio De Loera-Brust, a spokesperson for the United Farm Workers, which represents about 10,000 workers in California.

The union sued the administration over ICE raids in the fields earlier this year, but recently “it’s been pretty quiet,” he said.

“For us it’s been really a one-two punch,” De Loera-Brust said. “First came the raids, which hurt workers, and now in order to appease business interests, they make all these concessions on wages and the guest workers program.”

Fewer raids

The administration quickly walked back a June directive to avoid raids on the agriculture and hospitality industries. Nevertheless, ICE raids on those employers have been more infrequent in the months since.

In June, ICE raided a dairy farm in New Mexico and a meatpacking plant in Nebraska. Since then, the agency has raided only a handful of food and agriculture employers, such as a July raid on a California marijuana grower and an Arizona restaurant chain, and a September raid to arrest Wisconsin dairy workers.

Earlier this month, ICE agents descended on an onion farm in Northern California, arresting four immigrants on charges of illegally selling farmworker visas.

Even as ICE ramps up its activity in North Carolina cities such as Charlotte and Raleigh, Wicker, of the growers trade group, said farms in the state have not been targeted.

Gelatt, of the Migration Policy Institute, said that’s been true of farms and ranches in many states since June.

“In past administrations we’ve seen a very quiet de-emphasis of immigration enforcement at farms. You don’t need to make an announcement. You don’t need to fight in the courts,” Gelatt said. “It is possible just to direct enforcement activities away from farms. It’ll be hard to know if that’s happened now, but I would not be surprised.”

While farmworkers in California are seeing some relief from raids, life is still uneasy for them, De Loera-Brust said.

“Overall, they have clearly slowed down [raids] in ag areas, but that’s not policy. They could resume at any time. People are living with uncertainty,” he said.

Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson@stateline.org.

New EPA draft rules seek to narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act by further defining the Waters of the United States. Pictured here is Little Walnut Creek in Waukee, Iowa on May 5, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed Monday new rules to define the waters of the United States, or WOTUS, protected under the Clean Water Act. 

The move was celebrated by farm groups that oppose a broad interpretation of the law, while environmental groups said the rule change would end protections for millions of acres of wetlands and small streams. 

Waters of the United States defines the scope of the Clean Water Act and which waters can be regulated with federal water quality standards. The WOTUS definition, which is not laid out in the Clean Water Act, has been the source of several U.S. Supreme Court cases in recent decades, most recently in Sackett v. EPA. 

The high court ruled in May 2023 that wetlands without a “continuous surface connection” to navigable waters did not qualify for Clean Water Act protections. This was upheld by EPA final rules issued in August 2023, that not only applied to wetlands, but also removed the requirement that waters have a “significant nexus” to a navigable water. 

Some conservative groups and lawmakers argued the 2023 EPA interpretation did not go far enough to adhere to the court’s decision in the Sackett case. 

EPA’s new rules, made in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, would “fully implement”  the Sackett decision, “accelerate economic prosperity” and support the role of states and tribes in regulating their land, according to the agency’s news release. 

“When finalized, the rule will cut red tape and provide predictability, consistency, and clarity for American industry, energy producers, the technology sector, farmers, ranchers, developers, businesses, and landowners for permitting under the Clean Water Act,” the EPA release said.

The proposed rules would further define terms like: relatively permanent, continuous surface connection and tributary. The rules also establish that tributaries must connect to navigable waters via features that have “consistent” and “predictable flow.” 

The rules say wetlands must be “indistinguishable” from jurisdictional waters, with a “continuous surface connection.” The rules will also limit permafrost wetlands from the scope of the definition, include guidance on “wet season” water bodies, and offer exclusions on ditches, prior converted cropland, and waste treatment systems.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposed rules will protect navigable waters, advance cooperative federalism and result in economic growth. 

“Democrat Administrations have weaponized the definition of navigable waters to seize more power from American farmers, landowners, entrepreneurs, and families,” Zeldin said in a statement. “We heard from Americans across the country who want clean water and a clear rule. No longer should America’s landowners be forced to spend precious money hiring an attorney or consultant just to tell them whether a Water of the United States is on their property.” 

According to the release, the proposed rules were formed around feedback from states, tribal nations, local governments and listening sessions. 

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, in the release with EPA, the farm organization was “pleased” with the new rules. 

“The Supreme Court clearly ruled several years ago that the government overreached in its interpretation of what fell under federal guidelines,” Duvall said. “We are still reviewing the entire rule, but we are pleased that it finally addresses those concerns and takes steps to provide much-needed clarity.” 

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association similarly celebrated the draft rules Monday. The association’s president and Nebraska cattleman Buck Wehrbein said the previous interpretations of the rule have meant things like “prairie potholes or dry ditches” fall under federal regulation. 

“Waters of the U.S. has been a longstanding and frustrating issue for family farmers and ranchers,” he said in a statement. “Every few years, the definition of a ‘water of the U.S.’ has changed … We appreciate the EPA finally fixing previous WOTUS rules and supporting America’s family farmers and ranchers.”

Environmental groups said the newly proposed rules put habitat, drinking water and structures at greater risk. 

Environmental Defense Fund’s Vice President Will McDow said EPA’s proposed rules were “not based in science, difficult to implement in practice and will create a dangerous lack of clarity.”

“This rule brings tremendous uncertainty and risk to our nation’s drinking water, flood protections and critical habitats,” McDow said in a statement. 

The environmental group Food & Water Watch said the draft rules eliminate “bedrock” protections for rivers, streams, and wetlands. The group said in a news release the rules would “compound the damage” of the Sackett decision that “eliminated protections for tens of millions of acres of sensitive wetlands and small streams.” 

Food & Water Watch Legal Director Tarah Heinzen said the rule “flies in the face of science and commonsense” and will lead to more pollution downstream. Wetlands, Heinzen said, offer “critical functions” in providing habitat, protecting clean water and reducing flooding. 

“Clean water is under attack in America, as polluting profiteers plunder our waters — Trump’s EPA is openly aiding and abetting this destruction,” Heinzen said. “This proposed rule weakens the bedrock Clean Water Act, making it easier to fill, drain, and pollute sensitive waterways from coast to coast.” 

The proposed rules will be published in the Federal Register and open for public comment for 45 days. EPA and the Army will hold two public meetings before developing final rules.

The National School Transportation Association named Long Island, New York contractor Suffolk Transportation as its Contractor of the Year and inducted NSTA past-president Carina Noble to its Hall of Fame during the Annual Meeting and Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.

School Transportation News is in its third year as sponsor of the NSTA Contractor of the Year award.

One of the largest school bus contractors in New York state, Suffolk Transportation Services and Suffolk Bus was established in 1955, though the company traces its origins to 1922, and was acquired in 1970 by John A. Corrado. John J. Corrado currently serves as president and CEO with his sons John R. and Joseph as assistant vice presidents. Suffolk Bus transports 62,000 students in 24 Long Island school districts each school day with 1,800 school buses over 1,500 routes.

“This award is a testament to the passion, integrity and professionalism of every member of our team,” said Thomas Smith, Suffolk’s chief operating officer. “Their dedication to safe, reliable service, a strong company culture, and leadership across the student transportation industry inspires me every day. We’re proud to stand with our fellow NSTA member companies in raising the bar for what excellence in pupil transportation truly means.”

Thomas McAteer is executive vice president and Angelo Carbone is director of the company’s transit and paratransit operations for Suffolk. 

Meanwhile, Noble joined the NSTA Hall of Fame following her term as the association’s president from 2021 to 2023. She is the senior vice president of communications for National Express, the second largest school bus contractor in North America.

NSTA credited her with helping to obtain a two-year exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for under-the-hood requirements of the school bus inspection exam needed for the commercial driver’s license and amendments to the Clean School Bus Act that now allows private contractors direct access to grants.

“Carina Noble’s impact on NSTA cannot be overstated. She has served in a variety of capacities with the organization and left us in a better place each time. As government relations committee chair, Carina was focused and determined to use our advocacy platform in a positive way,” commented NSTA Executive Director Curt Macsysn. “Personally, I have leaned on Carina for advice and support over the years, and she has always come through with her calm and reasoned approach. I’m thrilled that she is entering into the NSTA Hall of Fame, and there isn’t a more worthy recipient.”

In all, NSTA awarded 18 members and two companies during its Annual Meeting and Convention, held July 20-23. STN President and Publisher Tony Corpin joined Macysyn in presenting the magazine’s Innovator of the Year award to Guarav Sharda, chief technology officer of Beacon Mobility, for his direction and implementation of AI-based HR tools for employees. Sharda was also recognized at STN EXPO West a week earlier.

Six individuals also received NSTA Golden Merit awards for their dedication and contributions to school bus safety, community service, business practices and vehicle maintenance. They are Glenn Brayman, fleet manager for First Student in Massachusetts; Melissa Castle, a location manager for Mid Columbia Bus in Oregon; Michelle Harpenau, manager for Durham School Services in Boston, Massachusetts; Kevin Kilner, director of safety for Beacon Mobility; David Kinley, vice president of operations in New York for Student Transportation of America; and Barbie Stucker, general manager of Big Sky Bus Lines in Montana.

Distinguish Service Awards were given to Paul Mori, the New York director of client relations for Beacon Mobility and Susan Rady of Johnson School Bus Service in Wisconsin, for “significant, substantial and special contributions to pupil transportation contracting.”

NSTA Outstanding Driver Service Award Recipients went to Linda Caudillo of Mid Columbia Bus Company; Jeffrey Flitcraft of B.R. Williams in Pennsylvania, Kilra Hylton of TransAction Associates in Massachusetts, Duane Versteegh of School Bus Inc. in South Dakota, and Becky Williams of Dousman Transport Company in Wisconsin.

First Student took home the Go Yellow, Go Green Award for adopting and advancing electric school buses, which the company operates over 2,000 across North America. Tim Weaverling of insurance provider RWR-Keystone was named Committee Member of the Year while John Benjamin, president of Benjamin Bus in Minnesota was named Committee Chair of the Year. Lee Edwards of Wells Fargo Equipment Finance was awarded Vendor Partner of the Year.

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Related: Historic Year for Minnesota School Bus Contractor Punctuated by NSTA Award
Related: NSTA: The Bus Stop with Tony Corpin, Publisher, School Transportation News
Related: Update: I Squared Completes Acquisition of National Express School Bus Contracto

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