EPA closes dust regulation meetings

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sponsoring a series of closed meetings with a hand-picked group of stakeholders as it develops new national standards on dust. EPA officials are weighing proposed changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. In the meetings, which are being held around the nation, they are seeking data, feedback on monitoring requirements and trying to determine the impact a change in the standards would have on farmers and ranchers. EPA spokesman Richard Yost said the meetings are closed to the public because they are stakeholder meetings. "We strive to give participants the ability to speak frankly at these meetings," he said. "EPA frequently meets with a wide range of stakeholders on any number of issues." The agency would not provide a list of the stakeholders it invited. A record of the meeting will be placed in the public docket at a later date, Yost said. The latest meeting will be in Spokane the morning of March 9. Idaho Department of Agriculture Deputy Director Brian Oakey, who was invited to the meeting, said he was not aware it was closed to the public. "I'm not sure why (EPA) would run the meeting the way they did," he said. "The rules they're considering can have a dramatic impact on agriculture," Oakey told the Capital Press...more