Noem spoke at a noon luncheon at the Yelduz Shrine Center, where about 80 people attended. The new EPA definition is just one of many topics she discussed.

“It’s the largest federal land grab that we’ve ever seen in our lifetime,” Noem said of the new navigable waters definition.

The EPA definition gives the agency wide-reaching jurisdiction over ditches, streams, stock dams and even water flowing through a person’s yard, Noem said.

“I say you can’t do that,” she said. “You can’t expand your power by changing a definition.”

Noem said this EPA definition change doesn’t just affect the agricultural community, but home builders and contractors. There are concerns about the permits that will be required; what happens if permits aren’t issued in a timely manner; and the potential for $30,000-per-day fines if the appropriate permits aren’t obtained.

Noem said that legislation proposed to override the change has been vetoed by President Barack Obama, and Republicans are taking steps to counter the president’s decision. For now, she said, the U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on the definition change, which means it won’t go into effect immediately.

The new definition essentially requires an EPA permit before any work can be done on covered lands.

“If that goes forward, it will change our way of life in South Dakota,” she said.

Those at Thursday’s lunch asked a variety of questions. One person noted the fact that his health insurance costs have increased from $150 per month to $685 per month since the Affordable Care Act went into effect. Noem said she’s heard often how health insurance costs have increased for people in South Dakota since the implementation of “Obamacare.”

She said efforts to repeal the full measure have failed, but Republicans have succeeded in repealing pieces of the act that implemented new taxes to fund it.

Noem said another attempt will be made this year to scrap the full Affordable Care Act.

“This year, we’ll put forward a bill that we believe will put competition back in the marketplace,” she said.

Another bill she expects to gain traction this year is a welfare reform act. Noem said it would provide opportunities for work training and education, so people on welfare “can provide for their families into the future.”

Later in the afternoon, Noem spoke at the grand opening of the Avera Cancer Institute inside the Don and Carmen Meyer Center of Excellence.

On Thursday morning, Noem stopped in Webster where she spoke at a school assembly.