Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 20, 2008
Contact: Martha Noble, (202) 547-5754
Bush Administration Leaves Rural Community Water Quality in Hands of Animal Factories Sustainable Agriculture Coalition calls on Obama Administration to Provide Effective Water Quality Protection
Washington D.C. (November 20, 2008). Martha Noble, Senior Policy Associate for the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, made the following comments on today’s publication of EPA’s Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) rule in the Federal Register:
“Today, the Bush administration issued a feeble Clean Water Act regulation for Concentrated Animals Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Under the regulation, an animal factory operation—even one with thousands of animals or in close proximity to rural community drinking water sources—can “self-certify” that it does not “propose” to discharge, with no review by a permitting authority. CAFOs with a history of pollutant discharges can avoid obtaining a Clean Water Act permit by self-certifying that the problem is solved to the CAFO’s satisfaction. Even a self-certified CAFO that subsequently discharges pollutants can recertify that it has fixed the problem and not be investigated by a regulatory authority or be made known to the public.
Rural communities will be left in the dark about the location of these “self-certified” CAFOs and will not have access to their self-serving assessments. EPA is not only ducking its responsibilities but is also stripping rural communities and smaller sustainable livestock producers of important tools for protecting themselves.
When the EPA’s 2003 regulations were challenged in court, the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Waterkeeper Alliance Inc. v. EPA, invited EPA to fashion a revised regulation that included a regulatory presumption that CAFOs of certain size, design, and operational characteristics should obtain Clean Water Act permits. Instead of fashioning this regulatory presumption, EPA is abandoning its duties to protect rural community health and the nation’s water quality. The EPA is essentially taking us right back to 1997 when the “no discharge” exemption for CAFOs unleashed a CAFO fecal flood in communities around the nation.
Fortunately, President-elect Obama’s rural and agriculture platform includes tougher environmental regulations on CAFOs, including fines for those who violate air and water quality standards. The new rule issued by EPA today makes it even more urgent for President-elect Obama to address this issue immediately after taking office. The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition urges President-elect Obama to do so.”
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The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition represents grassroots farm, rural, and conservation organizations from across the country that advocate for public policies supporting the long‑term economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources and rural communities.
The EPA’s final rule in the Federal Register can be read here.
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