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Vilsack: EPA has ‘growing appreciation’ for ag
Despite the concerns of many farm organizations that their industry is being targeted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says that agency actually has a “growing appreciation” for agriculture.
“I think, over the course of the last year, there’s been a growing appreciation—to use the word—an understanding of what’s going on in farm country,” Vilsack says, “because we’ve made a concerted effort at USDA to link up EPA with American producers, commodity group representatives, trade (industry) representatives—so there’s a better understanding.”
During a Thursday news conference with farm broadcasters at their annual meeting in Kansas City, Vilsack was asked about the latest “overregulation” controversy involving EPA—a rule requiring pesticide applicators to obtain NPDES—National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System—permits.
Vilsack compared the ag industry’s reaction to the NPDES announcement to its concerns about possible new “dust rules” from EPA.
“On the spray issue, I think there’s no intent on the part of the EPA to try to regulate spray drift that may occur as a result of normal application,” Vilsack says. “I think what they’re mostly concerned about is commercial applications and large-scale applicators.
“You know, I think it’s important for us to have a basic understanding of what’s being proposed—and sometime I think it gets out and it gets a bit twisted. We’ve had examples of that recently—dust is a good example.”
Tags: Environmental Issues, EPA, pes, spray drift, USDA, Vilsack
Just up until re-election for Obama & they will come back at everyone like a mean Holstein bull, a very mean Holstein bull on a rampage! Don’t let your guard down…. Vilsack has already been fooled!