The Trump Administration is rolling back regulations on protected waterways in the United States.

The new rule defines what water falls under federal jurisdiction and what doesn’t, which has a direct impact on farmers and their business.

Farmers won’t need as many permits when they want to build or use pesticides and fertilizers near water. In the past, it was unclear what was considered a federal waterway and what wasn’t, according to farmers.

“Is that a water of the U.S.? He wants to know that because time can be very short when you want to plant or harvest crops,” said Mark James, a senior field advisor for the New York State Farm Bureau. “If you’re dealing with an issue like that after a heavy rain, any time lost could be lost crops and lost revenue.”

Farmers need permits to develop near federal waterways. Sometimes development includes pesticides and pollutants. Permits costs time and money, so the Environmental Protection Agency is changing the rules. The purpose is to make it easier for farmers to do business.

“As farmer you know we’re big stakeholder we need clean water we need clean air and we need clean soil to raise good crops and livestock, so without that we’re out of business,” said Tony Emmi, the owner of Emmi Farms in Baldwinsville.

However, many opponents are worried about rolling back environmental protections. They say these changes allow more pollution in streams and other waterways, but a representative from the EPA says it just defines who’s in control of them.

 “Whether its water or air quality we have to develop some parameters that allow us one to care for our communities and people and then we also have to determine what’s needed to be protective, so there’s always a challenge as to how far you go to be protective,” said Pete Lopez, EPA Regional Administrator.

EPA representatives say they are prepared for lawsuits against the new rules. In fact, Governor Cuomo and Attorney General Tish James are two people strongly opposed to the changes. James is leading a lawsuit of 14 states suing the EPA over the regulations.

According to the EPA, these new rules will take effect in the next few weeks.

This is the largest rollback of the Clean Water Act since the law was passed in 1972.