Here is some more information about the EPA CAFO Regs meeting in Ames.
Jane Clark

Public Meeting on proposed CAFO rules

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a public meeting in Ames
on its proposed rules for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
This meeting is one of several meetings scheduled across the country to
enhance public understanding of the proposed regulations. The Ames meeting
will be held 1:30-5:30 p.m. on March 7 at the Benton Auditorium in the
Scheman Building of the Iowa State Center. The meeting will consist of a
brief presentation by EPA officials on the proposed regulations followed by
a question and answer session. This meeting is not a mechanism for
submitting formal comment on the proposal.

EPA's Latest Proposal to Regulate CAFOs is Not Tough Enough
From the Clean Water Network

Over the past several decades, factory farms have replaced family farms as
the primary source of meat production. Factory farms raise thousands of
animals in close quarters and dump millions of gallons of manure into the
environment each year.

EPA's current regulations, established in 1974, are riddled with loopholes,
allowing some 70% of large factory farms to escape regulation. Under the
terms of a 1992 judicial consent decree between Natural Resources Defense
Council and EPA, the agency was forced to propose a new rule, which EPA
Administrator Carol Browner signed on December 15, 2000.  However, EPA's
latest effort to control pollution from factory farms remains grossly
inadequate.  In particular, the agency's proposal fails to:

* require the phase out of lagoons and spray fields;
* require factory farms to obtain individual permits;
* provide adequate public participation in the permitting process;
* effectively control land application of manure;
* regulate non-nutrient components of manure such as pathogens, antibiotics
and metals;
* limit harmful air emissions of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and methane.

The proposal does include a few improvements worth mentioning, such as:

* holding the corporations that own the animals responsible for waste
disposal;
* including the land application area in the definition of an animal feeding
operation;
* eliminating the dry poultry exemption and the 25-year/24-hour storm event
exemption, which is one way operations claim to have no discharge.

Comment Process

The proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register on January
12, 2001. Go to: http://www.epa.gov/owm/afos/rule.htm to get a copy. The
deadline for submitting comments to EPA is May 14, 2001. EPA will publish
the final regulations in December 2002. Formal comments on the proposal
should be submitted by mail to: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
Proposed Rule Comment Clerk OW-00-27, Water Docket (MC4101), U.S. EPA, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington DC 20460. Comments may also be submitted
electronically to
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We Need Your Help! Let EPA Know What is Wrong With Their Proposal

This is your chance to voice your opinion. Write to EPA and tell the agency
how factory farms should be regulated. The Clean Water Network's Feedlot
Workgroup is preparing group sign-on comments as well as talking points to
help you prepare your own comments. We still need help in many areas and
could use your expertise.  If you are interested or would like more
information on EPA's proposed regulations contact Melanie Flynn at NRDC
(202) 289-2393 or [log in to unmask]

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