New Blog on CAFO’s
Joel David Palmer is a former administrator of the CAFO program at the Oregon Department of Agriculture and he now has a blog, Livestock & Ag Waste Intelligence that is off to a good start this month:
Your first stop for information on livestock and agricultural waste management issues, with perspectives from the local to the international. We will always invite your comments and encourage discourse between all stakeholders, to contribute to elegant solutions for minimizing wastes and converting wastes into resources.
Link.
So far, Mr. Palmer has talked about technologies to deal with animal waste, practices inside CAFO’s that some say amount to animal abuse, and other issue, including the newly proposed revise EPA CAFO rules: "Environmental advocacy groups read the "intend to discharge" provision to mean that CAFOs will be able to decide for themselves if they need a permit."
He also pointed out that in response to the EPA’s proposed rule, some in Congress have proposed giving CAFO’s a tax credit:
Republican Congressman Tom Osborne of Nebraska announced today that he has introduced legislation to provide a tax credit to CAFOs to offset the cost of compliance with federal water quality regulations. Osborne describes the EPA’s CAFO rules as "an unfunded federal mandate" that comes at a time when producers are already struggling economically. Osborne’s colleague in the Senate, Chuck Hagel (R-NE), introduced companion legislation in that body on June 29. The Senator states that although he agrees that polluting discharges from livestock operations should be controlled, "EPA has once again regulated industry without considering the costs."
Link.
Looks like it will be an interesting site to watch.
