Agriculture won a few battles in the dust-up over farm dust regulation last year, but it remains to be seen who will win the war.
Farm dust regulation ranks high on the list of policy priorities for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 2012, with the goal of getting the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act that was introduced last year passed by Congress and signed by the president. “The bill did pass the House of Representatives by a very commanding margin and very strong bi-partisan support,” said NCBA Deputy Environmental Counsel Ashley Lyon. “It is in the Senate and we are looking for ways to get a vote on this bill.”
Ashley says the big problem is that the president has already threatened to veto the bill. “The president continues to say that regulation of farm dust is a myth and he does not want any authority taken away from EPA,” she said. “It is not a myth, it is very real.”
The good news is that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said she plans to retain the current dust standard instead of doubling it as was proposed in some early rulemaking drafts. “But we still are pushing the legislation because it would be a permanent fix instead of just a five year fix,” said Ashely.
Listen to an interview with Ashley about farm dust here: Ashley Lyon interview