US agency to slap stricter rules on Maryland poultry sector

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to tighten pollution regulations against Maryland's poultry farmers, a move that has provoked protests from the state Governor and the Maryland Farm Bureau.

EPA Senior Adviser Chuck Fox said the agency can force states to make stricter guidelines if required, in order to control pollution level.

Shaun Adamec, press secretary for the Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, said the governor is concerned that stricter regulations for Maryland farmers would make it difficult for them to compete with farmers in other states.

Valerie Connelly, director of government relations for the Maryland Farm Bureau, said the decision to make different regulations would be unacceptable.

Putting harsher regulations on just Maryland farmers would give them an unfair economic disadvantage, she said, adding that EPA's regulations should apply nationwide instead of just Maryland.