WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Mike Crapo (Idaho) introduced the “Superfund Common-Sense Act of 2011” (S. 1729) this week, which would prevent the Obama Administration from imposing yet another needless and burdensome regulation on America’s food producers.
The legislation would clearly exempt manure, poultry litter, and their nutrient components from liability and regulation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund law) laws. The bill would also eliminate any reporting requirements by livestock and poultry producers under CERCLA and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) for manure emissions.
Original co-sponsors of the bill also include U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Dick Lugar (Ind.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), and James Risch (Idaho).
In a letter to their colleagues earlier this month, Senators Blunt and Crapo noted, “Farmers and ranchers across the country continue to face increasing regulatory uncertainty, stemming from potential and proposed rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”
“Our nation’s farmers and ranchers have long been leaders in efforts to protect the land and water of rural America. It is time that we restore the original intent of Congress under CERCLA and EPCRA and give livestock and poultry producers the certainty they need in these difficult economic times. We must make it clear to EPA and the courts that these producers were never intended by Congress to be liable under CERCLA and EPCRA reporting laws,” the Senators concluded.
