July 20, 2006
US senate bill to exempt livestock farms from pollution law
US senators introduced a bill Tuesday (Jul 18) for livestock operations to be exempted from an anti-pollution law.
If passed, the bill would free livestock operations from additional pollution standards in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), more commonly known as the Superfund law.
Livestock emissions are currently regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The bill is meant to clarify current law to protect an already heavily regulated industry from further regulation, Senator Pete Domenici said, adding that without it, livestock operations could be fined up to US$27,000 a day for each violation.
The Senate bill clarifies that animal manure is not a toxic waste substance and would therefore not require emergency response treatment like other toxic substances, Domenici added.
American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman said current EPA regulation provides enough safeguards with regards to livestock emissions. CERCLA exclusion would be important to the growth of the industry, he added.
Public safety and health, as well as water and air quality, are already protected by the federal Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, along with extensive environmental laws and regulations that apply to agriculture, Stallman said, adding that Congress had not intended for Superfund to apply to agriculture.
