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(Continued from page 35)
• "Without Clean Water Act protections -- there's often nothing stopping sewage, toxic chemicals, or some other worst-case water scenario from threatening our health and livelihoods," she wrote.
• Opponents of the proposed rule change, including Noem and Thune, argue the change is a definite expansion of federal authority, that any regulations on smaller bodies of water should fall under the purview of states and that instituting federal regulations will have harmful effects.
• Noem said the rule could potentially give the EPA authority over what she called "prairie potholes" -- small patches of water far away from navigable rivers and lakes.
• Thune said in a statement that the proposal would have "real consequences for South Dakota property owners."
• "Direct and indirect costs would result from additional permit application expenses, mitigation requirements, and environmental analysis," he said, "and violating these requirements could cost farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and businesses thousands of dollars per day."
• The EPA is accepting public comments on the proposed changes through mid-July.
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South Dakota invests state dollars on China trip
NORA HERTEL, Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard currently is leading a weeklong trade mission to China at a cost of $93,000 for the state, but the Republican believes the trip is worth the expense.
• Daugaard is hoping to expand the state's export markets, building on his two prior trips that resulted in brokered deals.
• In an interview this week, Daugaard said: "We don't have an objective dollar target."
• "We know that South Dakota's production well outstrips our ability to consume that production," he said. "So for South Dakota to grow, we need to export our products outside our state lines."
• For his past two trips to China, federal grants have covered most of the expenses. This time, the state will pay for up to 30 percent of costs of the companies joining Daugaard.
• Here's a look at the trip by the numbers:
• ONE
• China is the most populated nation in the world, and its gross domestic product (Continued on page 37)
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