Des Moines Register
07-26-07
Farm emissions ruling sparks outrage
Environmental groups say residents will continue to suffer as pollution remains
unchecked for two years.
By PERRY BEEMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Environmentalists are fuming over a federal court decision that they say means
more misery for Iowans and other Americans living near livestock farms - and a
free pass for the operations to pollute without penalty for the next two years.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
ruled last week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acted within its
enforcement powers when it agreed to give 14,000 farms two years of legal
amnesty in return for modest fines and help with a nationwide emissions
monitoring program. Environmental groups had contended the agreements
overstepped the EPA's powers and were equivalent to making a rule without the
required public review.
"They are giving the (confinements) a sweeter deal than Scooter Libby," said
Sierra Club legal director Pat Gallagher, who worked with the plaintiffs. He was
referring to the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, whose prison
sentence for lying and obstruction of justice in the outing of a CIA officer was set
aside by President Bush.
"For the next few years, they can do anything they want because they are off the
hook," Gallagher said of the livestock operations that signed deals with EPA.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was appointed by Bush, and Judge David Sentelle,
who was appointed by President Reagan, ruled in favor of the EPA. Dissenting
was Judge Judith Rogers, appointed by President Clinton, who agreed with the
environmental groups.
The EPA has signed agreements with 2,600 operations that include 14,000
swine, dairy, egg-laying and broiler chicken farms, including 667 in Iowa. The
operations paid a civil penalty of $200 to $100,000, depending on the number
and size of the farms, and contributed to an account to be used for monitoring.
The EPA last month launched a $14.6 million, two-year study of 24 sites in nine
states by eight universities, including Iowa State University. Iowa is the nation's
top producer of hogs and eggs, and a major producer of cattle and poultry, too.
Odors and gas emissions from livestock sites have created one of the state's
most emotional and divisive issues as nearby residents complain of nausea,
headaches, asthma and other health issues.
Studies at ISU and the University of Iowa suggested the state should regulate
emissions of harmful gases emitted from manure at the farms. The Iowa
Legislature has blocked moves to set limits.
Hog confinements - one of the types of farms in the EPA's programs - emit more
than 130 chemicals. Among them are ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, both of
which are capable of harming lungs and burning eyes and noses. Inside closed
spaces, they can kill.
Gallagher, of the Sierra Club, said the organization and other plaintiffs will decide
in the next few weeks whether to ask the full Court of Appeals to view the case.
Livestock groups hailed the agreements and the court decision as the quickest,
least expensive way to get the EPA the answers it needs to regulate the
emissions.
Eldon McAfee, lawyer for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, said the farmers
agreed to take whatever action necessary to meet the federal regulations after
the study period. The amnesty provision was the best way for the EPA to gain
access to a whole range of livestock farms, while sidestepping long and
expensive litigation. McAfee said the court noted that the EPA isn't sure what
levels of emissions come from the farms, and how extensive enforcement would
be, because of a lack of data. Farmers pay for the testing through the program,
he added.
The National Pork Producers Council, which intervened in the case, agreed. "By
working cooperatively with EPA to conduct emissions monitoring, we are
developing the body of scientific knowledge on air emissions from animal
agriculture that is necessary to design and implement effective mitigation
measures," said Randy Spronk, chairman of the council's environmental policy
committee.
The EPA retained the right to prosecute farms for clear and imminent health
threats, even during the two-year study period.
Lisa Whelan of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a prime pusher of
emissions regulations in Iowa, said she wonders why more farms won't be
tested. The EPA wanted to monitor the sites over an extended period to account
for weather variations and other factors.
"Anytime you give polluters a free pass to pollute, it's wrong," Whelan said.
"This sweetheart deal is ridiculous from beginning to end. The evidence is there"
that the farms should have emission limits, she added.
Wallace Taylor, a Cedar Rapids attorney who represents the Iowa Chapter of
Sierra Club, said his group will continue to push for new pollution limits. "We want
enforceable permits on air emissions."
Reporter Perry Beeman can be reached at (515) 284-8538 or
pbeeman@dmreg.com