Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently moved forward with a proposal to exempt livestock operations from certain federal air quality regulations. Public comments on the proposal will be accepted until March 27.
On Dec. 28, 2007, the EPA published in the federal register a rule change that exempts air releases caused by animal agriculture operations from emergency reporting requirements. The exemption to the federal Superfund air regulations, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, will be "limited to releases of hazardous substances to the air where the source of those hazardous substances is animal waste at farms," according to the EPA.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association applauded the proposal. In a statement published on the organization's website, NCBA's chief environmental counsel Tamara Thies said it's good news for beef producers. “We have been working on this for a long time, and cattle producers are very pleased EPA has agreed with our position on this rule," said Thies. "Without this rulemaking, cattle operations would be required to regularly monitor and report air emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide to the EPA. The EPA recognizes the fact that there will never be a situation that requires emergency response as a result of these emissions from manure and has, therefore, determined that monitoring and reporting are not necessary. This is a correct and welcomed decision by the EPA."
In early September 2007, Iowa Independent reported on a U.S. Senate committee hearing where the EPA proposal was discussed. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, opened the hearing by clearly stating her opposition to the idea of exempting livestock operations from Superfund enforcement."There is currently a proposal that would exempt CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) from important environmental and public health safeguards — in particular from the public reporting or 'right to know' provisions of the Superfund law," said Boxer. "The proposal also would eliminate provisions that ensure polluters pay to clean up their mess," she said. "CAFOs can create significant air pollution, including foul odors, ammonia, volatile organic compounds and hydrogen sulfide. CAFOs' air pollution can exceed the amounts emitted by industrial facilities."
But the ranking Republican on the committee, Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, warned against treating farms the same as industry. "The prospect of declaring animal manure a hazardous waste and thus regulating under CERCLA deeply concerns me," said Inhofe. "If animal manure is found to be a hazardous waste, then virtually every farm operation in the country could be exposed to liabilities and penalties under this act. Furthermore, how then do we categorize the producers of such hazardous waste? Are chickens and cows producers of hazardous waste and subject to CERCLA regulation as well?"
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