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Friends: One thing that has been clear to anyone
who follows the problems with industrial livestock operations in However, as Janet Kauffman’s early
post points out, virtually nothing
has changed on the ground in the areas where the CAFOs are ripping the heart
out of rural Now, however, the Farm Bureau is trying to
weaken the DEQ’s efforts, and in fact wants to put the regulation of
CAFOs in the hands of the Department of Agriculture (see press release below). While
MDA may well be better under Director Mitch Irwin than under the Engler
administration, MDA is not a regulatory agency, and has been historically weak
in doing adequate investigation and taking action to correct violations of
voluntary standards under their various environmental programs. While,
again, I know that there is a real interest in MDA to try to rectify these
failures, this is an agency with no technical skills in water pollution, air
pollution, waste handling or storage, or ground water. It makes zero
sense to suggest that these programs go to MDA -- Instead, how about a novel experiment?
How about if we actually give DEQ the staff, the funding, and the authority to
actually properly regulate and enforce the law to prevent pollution from
industrial livestock operations???? Why not clean up existing ones, help
prevent real water and air pollution from these facilities, shut down the ones
that fail and not build any more until we know how to do it right?? Why
don’t we try that first! Wouldn’t it be amazing to actually
find out if CAFOs could operate without destroying the lives of their neighbors
and downstream communities? Just a thought -- a heck of a lot more
practical than what Farm Bureau proposes below. Also, I hope we’ll get some
clarification on the idea of “streamlining regulations” attributed
to the Governor below. Anne Woiwode, State Director Sierra Club Mackinac ( Governor, department directors pledge cooperation in
regulating Contact:
GRAND RAPIDS, Dec. 2, 2005 – Speaking to hundreds of farmers today, Gov. Jennifer
Granholm and three of her cabinet members voiced support for regulations that
harness the Michigan agriculture industry's economic potential, and they
pledged to improve cooperation between state departments to accomplish that
objective. Michigan
faces "tremendous opportunities" to streamline regulations and forge
partnerships that "makes it easy for (farmers) to do what you do best and
makes it easy to protect the things we love," Granholm told delegates
today at Michigan Farm Bureau's (MFB) 86th Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids. Granholm
addressed the membership following a breakfast meeting where MFB members
questioned Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Director Steve
Chester, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Rebecca
Humphries and Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Mitch Irwin
about issues affecting their farms, including wildlife management,
environmental regulations and economic development. Granholm
urged the farming community to do whatever it can to take advantage of
technology and to form partnerships with the DNR and DEQ. Earlier
in the week MFB members adopted a strongly worded policy resolution that calls
for environmental protection authority to shift from the DEQ to MDA for farms
verified in the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program -
permitted or not. MFB
membership is concerned that regulatory decisions, under the existing
framework, can be based in response to emotion rather than science or law,
consequently penalizing producers rather than solving problems. The
"DEQ has exhibited a willingness to exceed federal rules, putting Michigan
agriculture at a competitive disadvantage," the policy reads, going on to
state, the DEQ continues to "pick and choose" aspects of legal
decisions which only increase regulatory burden, "often ignoring aspects
of the same decisions that are favorable to agriculture." "In
the absence of proven infractions of law, DEQ continues to interpret statutes
and rules in a manner that places additional burden on farmers to prove that
properly designed, constructed and maintained agricultural practices are not
polluting. ... DEQ has acted in a manner that exceeds In
responding to a member question that expressed frustration over
"constantly changing" environmental regulations that seem to be
"moving targets," Chester empathized with the crowd, saying he
understands that the state's attempt to "catch up" with federal rules
can be "daunting," and he admitted that cooperation between
departments "hasn't been the best." "We're
trying to do that much more effectively than we've done in the past," he
said. Granholm
echoed the need for inter-departmental cooperation, saying it's necessary to
capitalize on emerging markets. She said she looks forward to partnering with
Farm Bureau on new technologies that increase ethanol production, make use of
methane digesters and so forth. Nearly
all the guest speakers emphasized the agriculture industry's economic
contribution to the state, which Granholm boasted as generating $59 billion
annually. The
latest data from the Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service shows These
figures are important, considering "you only hear about losses of auto
plants," said Irwin. "People sometimes forget that Henry Ford was
first a farmer." Granholm
also drove home agriculture's potential in the wake of the declining auto
industry. "Because
we are the state that put the world on wheels, in my opinion, I think we have
an obligation to be the state that makes the MFB
President Wayne H. Wood said he was encouraged by today's remarks. Today's
brief address before delegates marked Granholm's second consecutive visit to
the MFB policy-making meeting, an event unrecalled in MFB history, according to
Wood. --30-- Anne Woiwode, State Director Sierra Club Mackinac ( 517-484-2372 fax 517-484-3108 Enjoy, Explore and Protect - www.michigan.sierraclub.org "We know what to do. We have everything we need
save the political will - which is, after all, a renewable resource. This is
the time. This our moral moment and [I am confident] we will rise to the
occasion." Former Vice President Albert Gore, at the Sierra Club |