Posted March 19, 2014
The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission recently began
the process for adopting rules for overseeing manure runoff from large cattle,
hog, and other livestock operations under the Clean Water Act, according to a
Des Moines Register article available here. Newton Daily News also reported on the story here.
At the hearing, the Commission heard from residents on
both sides of the issue.
Cattle and hog producers “spoke in favor of the
proposed rules, saying it provided protections for the environment without
driving farmers out of business with unnecessary rules and regulation.”
Gene Vermeer of Sioux Center “said his family is doing
everything they can to protect” the river near their cattle operation. Vermeer said stricter regulations would be
unaffordable and would put his operation out of business.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement members
criticized the commission, “saying the board is too greatly influenced by
agribusiness.” Members said every hog,
cattle and poultry operation “should be required to have a pollution discharge
permit.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the
state’s proposed rules “meet the requirements” of a work plan that the state and
federal agency entered into last year.
The proposed
rules require permits for large livestock operations that discharge into
bodies of water. The rules, however, are
not based on a facility’s past spill record.
The Commission plans to hold six hearings on the
proposed rules before the commission considers the final approval in August or
September.
For more information on the Clean Water Act, please
visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
