[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE FARM SUSTAINABILITY AND ANIMAL FEEDLOT ENFORCEMENT 
                                  ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 10, 1999

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced 
legislation to address the most important source of water pollution 
facing our country--polluted runoff. A major component of polluted 
runoff in many watersheds is surface and ground water pollution from 
concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), such as large dairies, 
cattle feedlots, and hog and poultry farms. Under current Clean Water 
Act regulations, CAFOs are supposed to have no discharge of pollutants, 
but as a result of regulatory loopholes and lax enforcement at the 
state and federal levels, CAFOs are in reality major polluters in many 
watersheds. My bill, the Farm Sustainability and Animal Feedlot 
Enforcement (Farm SAFE) Act addresses these deficiencies.
  Farm SAFE will require large livestock operations to do their part to 
reduce water pollution. The bill will lower the size threshold for 
CAFOs, substantially increasing the number of facilities that will have 
to contain animal wastes. It will require all CAFOs to obtain and abide 
by a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. 
The bill improves water quality monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting 
so that the public knows which CAFOs are polluting. Farm SAFE addresses 
loopholes in the current regulatory program by requiring CAFOs to adopt 
procedures to eliminate both surface and ground water pollution 
resulting from the storage and disposal of animal waste. The bill 
directs EPA, working with USDA, to develop binding limits on the amount 
of animal waste that can be applied to land as fertilizer based on crop 
nutrient requirements. In addition, the bill makes the owners of 
animals raised at large facilities liable on a pro rated basis for 
pollution caused by those facilities.
  Water quality in California's San Joaquin Valley has been degraded by 
unregulated discharges of waste from dairy farms. Contaminants 
associated with animal waste have also been linked to the outbreak of 
Pfiesteria in Maryland and the death of more than 100 people from 
infection by cryptosporidium in Milwaukee. Although considered point 
sources of pollution under the Clean Water Act, until recently little 
has been done at the federal or state levels to control water pollution 
from CAFOs.
  In recent years, many family farms have been squeezed out by large, 
well capitalized factory farms. Even though there are far fewer 
livestock and poultry farms today than there were twenty years ago, 
animal production and the wastes that accompany it have increased 
dramatically during this period. And although farm animals annually 
produce 130 times more waste than human beings, its disposal goes 
virtually unregulated.
  I am encouraged by recent efforts by the Department of Agriculture 
and the Environmental Protection Agency to address pollution from 
animal feedlots. Many of the solutions proposed by these agencies, such 
as comprehensive nutrient management plans for livestock operations and 
limiting the amount of animal wastes applied to land as fertilizer are 
nearly identical to some provisions of Farm SAFE. But the 
Administration's proposal does not go far enough. It lets too many 
corporate livestock polluters continue to escape compliance with the 
Clean Water Act by setting the regulatory threshold too high and by not 
making the owners of animals raised by contract farmers shoulder an 
appropriate share of the responsibility for water pollution from these 
operations.
  Farm SAFE is very similar to legislation that I introduced last 
Congress. Although hearings were held in the Agriculture Committee on 
the issue of animal feedlots, the House took no action on my 
legislation, nor did the House take any other action to address 
pollution from animal feedlots. I hope that this Congress does not 
continue to ignore this growing national problem. The states are 
beginning to wake up, smell the waste lagoons, and take action. But 
they need our help in the form of uniform national standards. Much like 
when Congress stepped in the early 1970s to set uniform national 
standards for industrial pollution, similar standards are now needed 
for large point sources of agricultural pollution. Otherwise, the 
country will become a mosaic of differing levels of environmental 
protection, with farmers in some states, like North Carolina, 
disadvantaged by their states commendable aggressive actions to curb 
pollution from factory farms.
  This legislation will restore confidence that we can swim and fish in 
our streams and rivers without getting sick. It will do much to address 
our number one remaining water pollution problem--polluted runoff. I 
hope the House will join me in the effort to clean up factory farm 
pollution.

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