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NCBA applauds farmer, rancher relief from oil spill prevention regs

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says it is pleased that comprehensive water infrastructure legislation includes regulatory relief from the EPA’s Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule.

NCBA government affairs vice-president Colin Woodall says spill prevention regulations meant for oil refineries were expanded to include on-farm oil storage.  Woodall says Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Representative Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) inserted a provision to get relief from what the NCBA calls EPA overregulation.

“It provides cattle producers and any farmer or rancher to be able to store up to 2,500 gallons [of oil] on each individual parcel of land,” Woodall told Brownfield Ag News Monday, “and not have to worry about building the containments, the dikes and the retainers that are otherwise required in spill prevention.”

The provision includes a complete exemption for animal feed additives as well as tallow and grease.

Woodall says the exemptions will protect cattle producers from the burden and cost of developing, and complying with, an SPCC plan.

AUDIO: Colin Woodall (3 min. MP3)