[AllegedWisdom]

When irrigation water is put directly on produce that will soon be consumed raw, it will transmit pathogens and should be drinking-water standard. This was not disputed, and was in the final rule.

However, if the water will go through manure before being absorbed by the the plant's roots, it is very wasteful to first purify it to drinking-water standard. Drinking-quality water is not everywhere in the quantities needed for irrigation, it requires expensive filtration and processing. Everyone saw the logic of this when it was pointed out, nobody was 'stumped'.