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Saturday, November 08, 2008
Environment - "Rules for big livestock farms"
Updating this ILB entry from Nov. 6th (2nd item), the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette editorializes today:
Federal environmental regulators finally released long-awaited new rules regulating concentrated animal feeding operations. But advocates keeping tabs on the effects of the significant growth of large livestock farms on the environment have good reason to view the new rules with skepticism.It was only in September that the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a damning report titled “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: EPA Needs More Information and a Clearly Defined Strategy to Protect Air and Water Quality.” [See this ILB entry from Sept. 24]
It said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t know enough about the environmental effects of large concentrated animal operations to create effective policies to govern the growing agricultural businesses. Opponents of CAFOs will understandably question whether the new rules will do enough to protect the environment.
The National Pork Producers Council – a knowledgeable but obviously biased source for analysis – describes the new rules as “tough but fair.”
Agency officials say the new rules are meant to strike a balance between protecting the environment without hurting livestock production. But it’s yet unclear whether the regulations will go far enough in protecting the environment.
“We are evaluating the new rules relative to our own CAFO regulations now to determine what if any changes to our regulations may need to be made,” said Amy Hartsock, spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. It is likely that state regulations are more stringent than the new federal rules. * * *
[A] questionable component of the new rules is a self-certification process that helps farm owners calculate whether they will need a discharge permit. The voluntary nature of the self-certification makes it ineffective.
Tough but fair regulations governing large-scale animal operations are greatly needed. But often the efficacy of any rule is based on the enforcement of those rules.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 8, 2008 10:03 AM
Posted to Environment