COCHRAN & WICKER ASK EPA TO USE “COMMON SENSE”
WHEN CONSIDERING NEW REGULATIONS ON FARM DUST

33 Senators Tell EPA Administrator That Stricter Rules Could Hurt Farm Economies

WASHINGTON, D. C. – The prospect of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moving forward on stricter regulations intended to control dust generated through farming has prompted U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) to caution the agency against any dramatic federal action.

Cochran and Wicker are among a bipartisan group of 33 Senators who recently wrote EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to encourage “common sense” when deciding whether to propose new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for coarse particulate matter—more commonly referred to as dust.  It has been reported that the EPA could make a decision by summer on whether NAAQS coarse particulate matter standards, or PM10, should be changed.

“I would be surprised if any cost-benefit ratio would show that the Environmental Protection Agency should impose new burdens on farmers, ranchers and rural communities where dust is not only common, but natural,” said Cochran, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

  “Mississippi’s agricultural communities are struggling with rising input prices, and unnecessary EPA regulations threaten to send costs even higher,” said Wicker.  “Decisions by the EPA could lead to more expensive grocery bills for American families.”

The letter warns that lowering the coarse particulate matter standard could cut into U.S. agriculture production and place new economic burdens on towns and counties to pave or treat unpaved roads.  The Senators also suggest that the EPA simply retain the current standard, which today requires corrective action if PM10 levels exceed 150 parts per million averaged over a 24-hour period.

“While we strongly support efforts to safeguard the wellbeing of Americans, most Americans would agree that common sense dictates that the federal government should not regulate dust creation in farm fields and on rural roads,” the Senators wrote.

“Given the ubiquitous nature of dust in agriculture settings and many rural environments, and the near impossible task of mitigating dust in most settings, we are hopeful that the EPA will give special consideration to the realities of farm and rural environments, including retaining the current standard,” the letter read.

The letter to Jackson was spearheaded by Senators Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), and was signed by Cochran, Wicker and Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Ensign (R-Nev.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

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