New York Times: EPA seems shy of factory-farm regs

According to its own studies, the Environmental Protection Agency says agricultural runoff is the leading cause of impaired water quality, with factory farms creating between 500 million and 1 billion tons of manure, three times as much waste as humans produce in the U.S. Yet, EPA continues to fail to restrict runoff from manure lagoons and feedlots, even withdrawing rules that would greatly benefit the quality of water, opines The New York Times. (Photo from Food and Water Watch)

Last year EPA withdrew a rule to gather basic information from factory farms, and another that would have expanded the number of farms required to have a national pollution discharge permit, the Times editorial says. Fewer than 60 percent of farms are currently required to have a permit. And last week the EPA "announced that promised new regulations governing feedlot discharges nationally would not be forthcoming."

"Right now, the patchwork of regulations — which assume a great deal of self-policing — suits the factory farm industry all too well," the editorial says. "So does the EPA.’s inability to gather even the most basic information about those farms. The industry believes that the less consumers know, the better. President Obama’s nominee to lead the EPA, Gina McCarthy, is still awaiting Senate confirmation. If and when she gets the job, she should make it an early priority to get the data she needs to shed light on — and forcefully regulate — an industry that thrives on ignorance." (Read more)