The Environmental Protection Agency is close to reaching an agreement with some of the nation's largest animal processors that would lay the groundwork for the first federal emission standards for companies that process millions of pigs, cows and chickens every day. The agency says the agreement, which would allow the companies to monitor the air quality of their own operations for two years, would produce information that is essential to develop standards for the industry, which generates huge amounts of animal waste. Toxic pollutants in the waste have been linked to a wide range of respiratory problems, especially in children.
"The industry as a whole needs better monitoring data," said Thomas V. Skinner, assistant administrator of the agency's office of enforcement and compliance. "This is the fastest and clearest way to do that."
But environmental groups and former agency officials say the agreement is a bad deal for the public because while the companies are collecting data, they will be shielded from prosecution for violations of the Clean Air Act and other federal laws.
"The government has the authority to get this data without an amnesty agreement," said Barclay Rogers, a lawyer for the Sierra Club. "That's one of the things that makes this so objectionable - there is no reason for the government to cut a sweetheart deal."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/03/politics/03enviro.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
