Sierrans:

I received the following email about "swine secrecy". Can we really be very
surprised!?



From: [log in to unmask] wrote:

> This is unbelievable!!   While we have been focusing on the USDA/USEPA AFO
> strategy "listening sessions", the EPA has been making backroom deals with
> the National Pork Producers Council.  The AP story below, sent out at 1:15
> am on Thanksgiving Day, outlines in summary form the worst scenario for
> clean water, clean air, and quality of life for those who live next to
> the factory hog operations.   See AP story below (there was a brief blurb
> about this in St. Louis POST-DISPATCH - and went to the AP Web page to get
> the full version - I could find no other newspaper that carried it.)
>
> This whole thing STINKS.
>
> The hog industry has essentially been given the green light to regulate
> itself - with maximum fines of $40,000 (apparently no matter what).
> The inspection team includes "public employees, engineers, university
> faculty, and private consultants" selected by NPPC and "approved by the
> EPA".
>
> QUESTIONS:  Why didn't we know anything about this - it apparently has been
> in the works for quite some time?  More importantly:  What should we do???
>
> If the pork industry can get this kind of deal, I assume that all other
> types of industry can as well.
>
> Ken Midkiff
>                      NOVEMBER 26, 01:15 EST
>               Pork Producers, EPA Reach Agreement
>                         By JANELLE CARTER
>                         AP Farm Writer
>
>     WASHINGTON (AP)   Hog farmers can avoid costly federal fines under a
>     deal with the Environmental Protection Agency that allows the industry to
>     conduct voluntary independent inspections.
>
>     The deal between the EPA and the National Pork Producers Council is the
>     first of its kind between federal environmental regulators and a major
>     section of agriculture.
>
>     Under the agreement, pork producers who have their farms inspected under
>     the NPPC's EPA-approved odor and water quality assessment program will
>     be eligible for reduced penalties for any Clean Water Act violations
>     discovered and corrected.
>
>     Before the agreement, farmers could be fined up to $27,000 a day for
>     violations. Under the new system, participating farmers will get a
>flat fine
>  of
>     no more than $40,000.
>
>     ``This program is an example of government and industry working together
>     to find common-sense solutions to protect public health and the
>     environment,'' said EPA Administrator Carol Browner.
>
>     NPPC President Donna Reifschneider called the deal a ``win-win for the
>     environment and producers.''
>
>     ``Problems that would have otherwise gone unnoticed will be corrected,
>     while farmers will have strong incentives for participating,''
>Reifschneider
>     said. ``The public will also have a better understanding of our
>commitment
>      to protecting the environment.''
>
>     The NPPC is paying for the program with checkoff fees that hog farmers
>     contribute.
>     The deal comes at a time when hog farms, particularly large operations,
>     have been under fire in some parts of the country.
>
>     In the November election, Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved the
>     monitoring of large hog lots to ensure they meet stringent environmental
>     standards. South Dakota voters approved a constitutional amendment
>     allowing only family-controlled farms to operate in the state.
>
>     The EPA and the NPPC have been discussing environmental standards for
>     hog farms since last year, along with state regulators and the U.S.
>     Agriculture Department.
>
>     The NPPC has established a team of farm inspectors, also approved by the
>     EPA. The team members include public employees, engineers, university
>     faculty and private consultants.
>
>     Officials hope to see more than 12,000 farms participate in the program
>     over the next three years.
>
>     The nation's hog farms are concentrated mostly in Iowa, followed by North
>     Carolina, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and
>     Ohio.
>
>
>          Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
____________________________________________
Lyle Krewson
6403 Aurora Avenue #3
Des Moines, IA 50322-2862

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515/276-8947
515/276-6844 - FAX
____________________________________________

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