UPDATE 1-EPA delays animal manure rule until July
March 27, 2001 11:28:00 AM ET
(adds background, details)
By Julie Vorman
WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The Bush administration will delay finalizing water pollution limits on large cattle and pig farms proposed during the Clinton presidency to give farm groups more time to analyze the costs. The delay in the animal manure rules, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency late Monday, comes at a time when the Bush administration has been criticized by green groups for rolling back other environmental protection rules for arsenic in drinking water, mining waste and roadbuilding in forests.
EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said in a statement the agency's extension to July 30 would give farm organizations, livestock groups and others extra time to submit their recommendations on a proposal to regulate manure generated by large, so-called "factory farms."
The comment period had been scheduled to end next month.
On Jan. 12, the outgoing Clinton administration proposed rules under the Clean Water Act to limit pollution from animal feeding operations having at least 1,000 cattle or 2,500 hogs. The proposed rule would require many U.S. farmers to obtain discharge permits and put together a formal plan for managing the huge amounts of waste generated by their animals.
The EPA has estimated that the entire U.S. livestock industry -- including small farmers with just a few animals -- generate a total of 128 billion pounds of manure annually.
Large pork operations typically build lagoons to store the animal waste. Environmentalists say spills from the lagoons during thunderstorms pollute the soil, streams and underground aquifers and contribute to fish kills and disease outbreaks.
During the past decade, livestock farms throughout the nation have steadily grown larger through consolidation. The average hog operation in North Carolina today has about 4,000 animals.
Farm groups criticized the proposed EPA rule as costly and unworkable.
"This is a very long and complex rule, with far-reaching and costly ramifications for every livestock producer regardless of where they live and what size operation they have," said Steven Cohen, spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council.
The EPA proposal estimated the new rules would cost affected cattle ranchers up to $1.22 million annually, and pork producers up to $115,500 each year, depending on whether farmers had cropland to spread some of the manure on. Farmers with large dairy, chicken or turkey operations would face lower estimated costs to comply with the rule, the EPA said.
The pork group has offered environmental programs and assistance to its members for several years. Cohen said the group did not oppose EPA regulating manure runoff but wanted to make sure any final rules are realistic and based on science.
Environmental groups say stricter limits are needed to prevent animal manure from contaminating streams and underground water supplies.
Once the public comment period ends on July 30, the EPA will spend several months deciding whether to finalize the rule as proposed by the Clinton administration or make changes to it.
Last month, a group of environmentalists and family farmers sued Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD), the world's biggest pork producer, for allegedly polluting North Carolina rivers and streams. Smithfield acknowledged that its hog operations have had small accidental discharges but said the company had invested in state of the art waste disposal technologies.
Smithfield raises about 12 million animals annually, with companywide sales of more than $5 billion.
© 2001 Reuters
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