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Washington, Jun 22, 2009 - By Iowa Congressman Tom Latham
Iowa’s 4th Congressional District

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing a harmful rule that would drive up costs for farmers and hardworking American families without providing any tangible environmental benefits.

I introduced the amendment, which passed by a 31-27 vote during a full committee markup, to stop the EPA from imposing upon animal producers a federal mandate that would require them to monitor and report greenhouse gas emissions in manure management systems. In all likelihood, such a rule would force producers to foot the bill for the equipment and personnel to monitor the emissions, adding a significant expense to an industry that’s already dealing with struggling markets and the economic downturn.

The scope and cost of the proposed rule likely would be much greater than the EPA had suggested. The EPA had estimated that the emissions ruling would affect between 40 and 50 of the largest livestock operations in the country, but agriculture organizations have disputed those numbers. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association reported that the rule would actually impact up to 130 cattle facilities, without taking into account pork and poultry operations. The Iowa Farm Bureau estimates the ruling could impact 26 poultry plants in Iowa alone.

The EPA also reported that the ruling would cost each affected animal operation around $900 to implement, but equipment costs to measure methane would be closer to $15,000 per facility.  Additionally, livestock operations also would have to pay personnel to operate and maintain the equipment.  

Farmers have a duty to protect the environment.  After all, their livelihood depends on a healthy ecosystem.  But this regulation does nothing to impact the environment or improve manure management procedures.  It contains no mechanism or incentive to encourage farmers to adopt environmentally friendly agricultural practices.  This is regulation for its own sake, and it will drive up the cost of doing business in one of the most important sectors of our economy.