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Thursday, July 05, 2012

EPA explains flyovers of Nebraska and Iowa farms

Some incorrect reports and have said the Environmental Protection Agency was using drones to conduct fly-overs of livestock feed lots in Nebraska and Iowa, enraging farmers who felt their privacy was being violated by the federal government, and Nebraska's congressional delegation asked for an explanation.

Region 7 EPA Administrator Karl Brooks said the agency started doing manned flyovers with aircraft in 2010 to search for Clean Water Act violations because it costs less money and time than sending individual inspectors on the gournd, reports Todd Neeley of DTN/The Progressive Farmer. Brooks said the erroneous reports about drones make it difficult for EPA to do its job in the region.

EPA livestock waste expert Steve Pollard to spoke with Nebraska livestock producers Monday as part of a set of public forums designed to explain the flyovers. He told an estimated 120 people that EPA uses aerial inspections to identify possible runoff problems that eventually pollute streams, Joe Duggan of the Omaha World-Herald reports. The area around Lexington, Neb., has one of the highest concentrations of feed yards in the state, and Pollard said central Nebraska has higher concentrations of polluted rivers and streams than any other part of the state. (Read more)

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