Download PDF
with endorser list here

Oppose Amendment To Burden Communities With Cleanup Costs By Exempting Livestock Waste From Health And Environmental Laws

 
November 15th, 2006
 
Dear Senator:
 
We urge you to oppose an amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations bill to exempt livestock hazardous substance releases from pollution liability and reporting requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). This exemption would block state and local governments from recovering costs incurred to clean-up hazardous substances associated with livestock waste from drinking water sources, and would withhold toxic release information from communities and emergency responders.
 
Large livestock operations can be significant sources of pollution. Unlike traditional farms, these operations hold thousands of animals in confined areas. These large-scale confinement operations generate enormous quantities of manure. Few operations treat this waste which produces hazardous substances such as phosphorus, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and carries pathogens such as E. coli.
 
This exemption is unwarranted because CERCLA already includes a specific exemption for the normal application of fertilizer or for releases that are authorized by a Clean Water Act permit. However, many large-scale livestock operations produce more waste than can be responsibly managed by traditional fertilizer application practices or consistent with permit requirements. Instead of adopting treatment practices or moving waste materials outside of confined areas, many operations simply dump excess waste, polluting downstream water sources.
 
The City of Waco, Texas recently spent more than $54 million to deal with taste and odor problems caused by excessive dairy cow waste. Facing ever-increasing water treatment expenditures to eliminate livestock pollution, the City urged upstream operations to adopt better waste management techniques. When that effort failed, they initiated a CERCLA legal action to recover cleanup costs from the polluting operations upstream. The suit was used not to shut down dairies, but as leverage to impose better manure management at these facilities. The City of Tulsa, Oklahoma and state of Oklahoma resorted to similar actions to deal with excess livestock waste that has polluted drinking water sources.
 
We urge you not to exempt livestock waste from the health and environmental protections that CERCLA and EPCRA provide. Thank you for considering our views.

Sincerely,
 
Michele Merkel
Senior Counsel
Environmental Integrity Project
 
Wenonah Hauter
Executive Director
Food and Water Watch
 
Brad Redlin
Director, Agricultural Programs
Izaak Walton League of America

Velma Smith
Senior Policy Associate
National Environmental Trust
 
Ed Hopkins
Director, Environmental Quality Program
Sierra Club 

Alex Fidis
Staff Attorney
U.S. Public Interest Research Group
 
Ferd Hoefner
Policy Director
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition