Thursday, Floyd County Iowa Supervisor and farmer Mark Kuhn testified at a U.S. Senate committee hearing in opposition to the FARM or Fair Agricultural Reporting Method Act. That measure exempts confined animal feeding operations from reporting air emissions under CERCLA, which is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Kuhn says he told the Senators that air emission reporting for livestock operations needs to continue under EPCRA or the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.
He’s concerned that if the FARM Act passes and EPCRA reporting is eliminated, there’s no environmental protections left for citizens.
Kuhn says research has shown that people exposed for a long time to hydrogen sulfide ammonia from CAFOS have severe health effects.
Kuhn says he doesn’t agree however with CAFOs having to report their air emissions to the Coast Guard, that there’s a better regulatory way to handle that.
