EPA proposed changes to the Clean Water Act merit the attention of Missouri agriculture

This Special edition of Commercial Agriculture 2001 is devoted to a topic we feel is vitally important in considering the future of Missouri and U.S. agriculture.

John Lory and Ray Massey, environmental nutrient management specialist and economist respectively on our crops focus team, prepared the information on EPA's proposed changes in the Clean Water Act in this Special edition. They had the help of coworkers on the Commercial Agriculture swine, dairy, and beef focus teams.

John and Ray have studied the lengthy proposal, Nationally Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Regulations for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, recently published in the Federal Register. They have summarized key elements they consider of importance to Missouri dairy, swine, beef, and poultry producers.

In my opinion John and Ray are uniquely qualified to assess the impact of the EPA proposals on Missouri agriculture. They, and other members of our Commercial Agriculture swine focus team, are just now completing a six-state study for the National Pork Producers Council on the economic viability of imposed environmental regulations on swine operations. The study is being conducted in anticipation of new EPA standards for the Clean Water Act.

The proposed rules on concentrated animal feeding operations are significant. The preamble alone runs from page 2960 to page 3134 in the Jan. 12, 2001 vol. 66 No. 9 in the Federal Register. The amendments run from page 3134 to page 3145 in the same issue. That's more than 185 pages of text dealing with the proposed changes.

These documents will be found at this address:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a010112c.html.

In addition EPA has prepared more than 1,000 pages of supporting documents and they will eventually be posted at www.epa.gov/owm/afos/rule.htm.

Any comments regarding the proposed rules should be made by May 14, 2001.

Rex Ricketts, Coordinator
University of Missouri Outreach and Extension
Commercial Agriculture Program