Senate Ag Committee Hearing- EPA Issues

A news release yesterday from the Senate Agriculture Committee stated that, "U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide America's farmers and ranchers certainty and stability, not additional burdensome and costly environmental regulations. Lincoln's comments came during a Senate Agriculture Committee oversight hearing to examine the impacts of EPA regulation on agriculture. The Hon. Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Rich Hillman, of Carlisle, Ark., were among those who testified.

"'At a time when every American feels anxious about his or her own economic future, our farmers, ranchers, and foresters are facing at least ten new regulatory requirements that will drive up their costs and make it more difficult to compete in the global marketplace. These regulations rely on dubious rationales and, as a consequence, will be of questionable benefit to the goal of conservation and environmental protection,' Lincoln said. 'Farmers face so many unknowns - the last thing they need is regulatory uncertainty. Our farmers, ranchers and foresters need clear, straightforward, and predictable rules to live by that are not burdensome, duplicative, costly, unnecessary, or in some cases just plain bizarre.'

"Lincoln pointed toward EPA's Clean Water Act permit requirements for pesticide applications as one example of an expensive and duplicative process that is creating unnecessary hurdles for farmers. She noted that farmers are not only struggling to meet these requirements, but are often left guessing on which requirements to meet."

Yesterday's release added that, "Lincoln also reiterated her opposition to EPA overseeing the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, noting the extraordinary burden it would place on farmers across the nation.

"'I flat out disagree with EPA's regulation of greenhouse gases,' Lincoln said. 'I fear that federal courts will order EPA to regulate small sources of greenhouse gases. This could mean unnecessary regulation for thousands of farms all around the country. We cannot allow this to happen. And as I have said time and again, it should be Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, who should be writing the laws to regulate greenhouse gases.'"


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