Court rules against green groups, lets factory farms off the hook

Swine By Us

Some 2,600 livestock companies are participating in a sweet deal from the U.S. EPA. In exchange for paying a minimal fee and agreeing to participate in an air-quality data-collection program, factory farms can basically be exempt from Clean Air Act requirements for 30 months. When the swap was announced in early 2005, environmentalists cried foul; green groups sued the EPA, claiming that the agency failed to follow rulemaking procedures. But this week, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the EPA, in effect allowing factory farms participating in the program to pollute and stink as much as they like without fear of litigation. "The EPA decided to give them blanket amnesty in the form of, 'You send us a check ... and we'll guarantee that no one will sue you,'" says David Bookbinder, senior attorney for the Sierra Club. Data collection began this summer; of the 14,000 farms signed on to the compliance agreement, only 24 will actually be studied. The rest are happy as pigs in ... well, you know.

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, Henry C. Jackson, 18 Jul 2007

straight to the source: Forbes, Associated Press, Rick Callahan, 13 Jul 2007

see also, in Grist: EPA offers air-pollution immunity to factory farms

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Disgusting

Gainesville Sun, 2005: http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200 ...

Article published Mar 1, 2005
Get animal factories added to act, regulations

The Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency let the factory farm industry draft its own air pollution rules that would shield them from government lawsuits, enforcement of the Clean Air Act and immunity from federal Superfund and environmental right-to-know laws.

Under EPA's proposal, for a small fee, animal factories can volunteer to monitor their own air pollution, thus poisoning thousands of communities.

Over the last decade, the meat, dairy and egg industries have boomed and consolidated, creating gigantic animal factories where thousands of chickens, pigs and heifers are densely packed in unspeakable conditions.

Industrial animal facilities generate an estimated 575 billions pounds of manure each year and collect it in vast lagoons of concentrated animal waste.

Animal factory manure wastes also contain dust, molds, bacterial endotoxins and up to 400 separate volatile compounds, many of which are known irritants, allergens and respiratory hazards.

Scientific studies show that manure lakes emit toxic airborne chemicals that cause headaches, sore throats, excessive coughing, diarrhea, burning eyes, childhood asthma and immediate and long-term respiratory disease.

No wonder talks between EPA and animal factory officials took place in Washington behind closed doors, far from the stench, sickness and misery.

The EPA is accepting comments until Wednesday. Please e-mail to oppose exempting animal factories from the Clean Air Act and Superfund regulations.

Place Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0237 in the subject line and e-mail them at a-and-r-docket@epa.gov

Karen Orr,
Waters and Wetland chair,
Florida Chapter, Sierra Club,
Gainesville

by Karen Lee Orr at 5:50 PM on 19 Jul 2007

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