FORUM:  Noem right on target with farm dust regulation bill

Posted: Saturday, December 24th Filed in: News

RapidCityJournal.com

Scott VanderWal President of South Dakota Farm Bureau Rapid City Journal | Posted: Saturday, December 24, 2011 6:00 am

The South Dakota Farm Bureau, along with more than 190 organizations across the United States, applaud the U.S. House for recently passing H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act. The legislation, authored by Rep. Kristi Noem, passed the House with a 268-150 vote, including 33 Democrats. Not surprisingly, the majority of opponents were from urban districts.

Criticism of the bill, and even a veto threat from the President, highlight the stark contrast between those fighting for agriculture and those detached from rural America. Opposition to the idea of excluding naturally-occurring dust from federal regulation raises some questions: Is there an element of plausible deniability? Or are opponents of the legislation — some who have referred to it as “pixie dust” — engaged in disingenuous pandering?

In a recent letter to Congress, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated she really doesn’t intend to further regulate coarse dust particles at this time. Apparently, this rather broad statement is supposed to boost our confidence that the current administration would not do anything ill-advised.

Unfortunately, there is historical evidence that we all need to be wary.

First, the Clean Air Act requires that standards be reviewed every five years. Even if current proposals to regulate dust are being shelved, they could easily reappear in five years. Second, in both the 1996 and 2006 reviews, EPA finalized a standard that was different from what had been proposed. Third, farm work is already being curtailed when naturally-occurring dust shows up in the air in parts of the western United States.

That is why we believe Rep. Noem’s bill is on target. The legislation makes some common-sense amendments to the Clean Air Act by allowing state and local governments to regulate naturally-occurring dust from normal farming operations. At the same time, the bill gives the federal government authority to step in if there is a substantial evidence of adverse health impacts.

Planting and harvesting crops, moving livestock, and driving down dirt roads are just a few of the ways dust occurs in rural areas. The cost of the federal government attempting to regulate these activities would be astronomical. That is why the Noem bill needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by the president.