Legislation introduced to exempt manure from Superfund Law

Senators Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) this week introduced the “Superfund Common-Sense Act of 2011” (S. 1729), which would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the courts from imposing what the policymakers called another “needless and burdensome” regulation on U.S. agriculture. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Deputy Environmental Counsel Ashley Lyon said the legislation would restore the original intent of Congress under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), more commonly called the Superfund Law, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). She said the Superfund Law was originally passed by Congress in 1980 to prevent toxic waste from polluting U.S. waters and was never intended to elevate extreme agendas by imposing liability on U.S. farmers and ranchers in the same fashion as toxic waste polluters. The legislation would exempt cattle manure from regulations under these laws. “Congress never intended manure to fall under the jurisdiction of CERCLA. However, some activists groups and attorneys in Texas and Oklahoma have worked to increase the law’s reach by attempting to convince courts that livestock producers should be subject to CERCLA liability,” said Lyon...more