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Alert: EPA to Eliminate Clean Air Standards for Factory Farms

The EPA is accepting public comments until March 27, 2008 on its proposal to eliminate clean air standards for factory farms. Federal laws currently require industry of any type to report hazardous substances they are spewing into the atmosphere, but according to the EPA, factory farms, should no longer have to do that. The EPA's proposal doesn't even attempt to hide its reasoning behind this decision. Instead, it simply says these landmark exemptions should be made "to reduce the burden on the regulated community."

To paraphrase, the EPA proposal says factory farms should no longer be required to report the discharge of hazardous air pollutants, because it's too hard for factory farms to comply with the laws and because the government isn't going to do anything to violators anyway. Please sign our petition or, better yet, submit your own individual comments directly to the EPA Docket comments website here The full docket can also be read here.

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February 10, 2010

Subject:

I am deeply concerned about the EPA's proposal to create exemptions for CAFOs regarding hazardous air emissions from animal waste.

Studies show people living near large factory farms suffer significantly higher levels of upper respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments than people living in non-livestock areas.

Animal waste is rich in nitrogen, much of which escapes (as ammonia) into the air from waste storage pits and from field application of animal wastes. Rain then deposits the nitrogen onto water, and onto land where it can run into waterways. Excessive nitrogen feeds algae growth and depletes the oxygen supply, killing fish and other aquatic life.

The EPA's proposal claims such an exemption should be made because no enforcement action is likely to follow the reports. Although this is disturbing, in itself, it is not excuse enough for ceasing the documentation and reporting of this important environmental and public health information.  Communities cannot make informed choices and policies cannot be accurately sculpted regarding CAFO air pollution if, at the very least, the effluent data is not recorded and reported.

It seems the EPA is gradually dismantling laws pertaining to the protection of the environment and public health from such contamination as similar efforts in previous years by the agency have laid the groundwork for CAFOs to have complete exemption from clean air standards.  I strongly oppose these actions.

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