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Beef Buzz News

Obama Administration Agencies Push Hard for New Regulations that Impact Beef Cattle Production

While at the 2011 Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association convention, the President and CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Ross Wilson, talked with us about what he calls the "overeaching" of the US Environmental Protection Agency- an agency that seems intent on regulating every aspect of American life.


On today's Beef Buzz, we hear from Wilson about comments filed by the TCFA with the EPA on their guidance proposals for the Clean Water Act. We also discussed the dust rules that EPA continues to contemplate as well as the GIPSA rule on how we market livestock that USDA may release before the end of 2011. On the GIPSA rule, Wilson promises litigation if USDA release a final rule that is anything like the proposed rule that was released by GIPSA back in June of 2010. He and other cattle industry leaders who have a great deal of heartburn over the GIPSA rule have asked USDA to allow public comments once the details of the Cost Benefit Analysis being done by USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber are revealed.


Here's some background on the position that TCFA has taken on the Clean Water Act as being viewed by EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers- this from their electronic weekly newsletter:


Comments were filed this week on an EPA/Army Corp Of Engineers (Agencies) Guidance Document regarding identification of Water Protected by the Clean Water Act (CWA).
     "This guidance proposes to extend additional regulatory authority over private property and will further impede our ability to produce beef for U.S. and international consumers, due to increased operating and production costs with no real or measureable protection of the environment," stated TCFA Chairman Bo Kizziar. "We support reasonable environmental protection requirements, but we also support private property rights afforded to our members and protected through federal and state law, in addition to case law. The rights' of our members are threatened by the draft guidance and as such we are adamantly opposed to the draft guidance as written. TCFA respectfully requests that the Agencies withdraw the proposed Guidance."
     Unlike previous guidance documents, the proposed guidance will be used by the Agencies to interpret the term "waters of the United States" in the context of all programs authorized under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Agencies' decision to issue Guidance on this topic as opposed to a rulemaking is contrary to the expressed views of a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court justices and the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Both EPA and the Corp continue to make important changes to their regulations and expand their CWA jurisdiction through guidance, shortcutting critical rulemaking requirements such as a response to public comments; providing a rationale for changes in agency policies; and producing a final decision that can be judicially reviewed.
     The Agencies have acknowledged the economic impacts of the Guidance. EPA has itself estimated that the annual costs of implementing the Guidance will be between $87 million and $171 million, and EPA arrived at that number without taking into consideration permitting costs, the increased delays associated with expanded federal jurisdiction and the costs of new land use restrictions. The Guidance will impose a significant economic burden on TCFA members.


The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the listen bar below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.


   
   

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