Thursday, July 14, 2011

Industry, environmental groups agree on new dairy regulations

The New Mexico Environment Department announced an agreement between representatives from the dairy industry and environmental groups on new dairy regulations. Environment Secretary David Martin said the deal ends an impasse created by dairy discharge rules approved by the Water Quality Control Commission in December 2010. Supporters of the accord include the Dairy Industry Group for a Clean Environment and representatives from Amigos Bravos, Caballo Concerned Citizens and the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter. The Dairy Industry Group appealed the original rules in January as overly burdensome and unnecessarily rigid in protecting ground water. The new agreement requires all dairies to install monitoring wells, but limits the requirement for installation of synthetic liners to new dairy facilities and to dairies that have had leaking impoundments...more

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