Page 23 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Fourth Quarter 2021

Act of 2021. Congress passed this act
to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Labor to provide supplemental H-2B visas for fiscal year 2021. In accordance with Executive Order 14010 on “Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework
to Address the Causes of Migration, to Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border,” 6,000 of these visas were reserved for nationals of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Waters of the United States
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers announced on September 3, 2021 a reversion to a pre-2015 definition
of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) following a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Arizona, finding that the rule issued
in 2020 was inconsistent with the federal
Clean Water Act. The NCFA has joined several state and national forestry trade associations in submitting comments that make the following recommendations:
1. Congress’s stated policy in Clean
Water Act Section 101(b) must guide any revision of the definition of “Waters of the United States.”
2. Any revision the agencies make should include clear definitions that allow for consistent application.
3. Only non-navigable waters that are relatively permanent tributaries to, and have a clear surface connection with, traditional navigable waters should be “Waters of the United States.”
4. Most ditches should remain non- jurisdictional.
5. Only wetlands that directly abut other “Waters of the United States” should be jurisdictional.
6. The agencies should maintain specific exclusions in any revision.
THE PERFECT HYBRID
OF NATURE AND MACHINE.
ncforestry.org / FOURTH QUARTER 2021 21
2022
FORESTRY DAY IN THE LEGISLATURE In Person
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
The NCFA sponsors an annual Forestry Day in the Legislature. The event provides an opportunity for NCFA members to come to Raleigh and meet with their elected officials in a relaxed atmosphere on the Halifax Mall.
The event begins at 9:30 a.m. with a briefing from NCFA staff on the current legislative issues affecting forestry and the forest products industry in North Carolina. Members are then given information to discuss with their elected officials. At the adjournment of the briefing, we ask NCFA members to visit with elected officials from their district, and invite them to the NCFA luncheon that starts at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m.
Forestry Day in the Legislature is a highly anticipated and popular event with the members of the North Carolina General Assembly and their staff. The NCFA encourages all of its members to make attending Forestry Day a priority.