Author Topic: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation  (Read 2946 times)

makattak

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Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« on: June 25, 2010, 10:24:40 AM »
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/06/epa_classifies_milk_as_oil_for.html

Quote
GRAND RAPIDS -- Having watched the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico, dairy farmer Frank Konkel has a hard time seeing how spilled milk can be labeled the same kind of environmental hazard.

But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is classifying milk as oil because it contains a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil.

The Hesperia farmer and others would be required to develop and implement spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks. The rules are set to take effect in November, though that date might be pushed back.

"That could get expensive quickly," Konkel said. "We have a serious problem in the Gulf. Milk is a wholesome product that does not equate to spilling oil."

But last week environmentalists disagreed at a Senate committee hearing on a resolution from Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, calling for the EPA to rescind its ruling.

"The federal Clean Water Act requirements were meant to protect the environment from petroleum-based oils, not milk," he said. "I think it is an example of federal government gone amuck."

But Gayle Miller, legislative director of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said agricultural pollution probably is the nation's most severe chronic problem when it comes to water pollution.

"Milk is wholesome in a child's body. It is devastating in a waterway," Miller said. "The fact that it's biodegradable is irrelevant if people die as a result of cryptosporidium, beaches close for E. coli and fish are killed."

Miller said "big agriculture" is constantly trying to be exempted from environmental regulations at the state and federal level. She was disappointed to learn the EPA told The Press it "expects shortly to issue a notice to extend the date for milk storage tanks to comply with SPCC (Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure) regulations."

Also, the International Dairy Foods Association said it has learned the EPA will exempt the industry from the rule.

But state lawmakers say they won't let up until that is official.

Konkel, who also spoke at the Senate hearing, co-owns Silver Sky Dairy, with his wife, Shari, and a brother-in-law and his wife. They have 300 milking cows on about 800 acres and a 5,000-gallon tank that keeps their milk cool.

The regulations apply to farms that store more than 1,320 gallons in above-ground containers or more than 42,000 gallons in buried containers.

In May, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mount Clemens, introduced legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, that prohibits enforcement of the EPA's regulations on dairy and dairy product producers, processors, handlers and distributors.

"This is an example of where we have overreach by the department that defies common sense," said Matt Smego, legislative counsel for Michigan Farm Bureau.

Smego said its an unnecessary regulatory burden that creates additional costs. He said it could cost $2,500 for a certified engineer to safeguard milk, plus more to construct secondary containment structures.

Michigan has 2,299 dairy farms. According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture, dairy is the leading segment of Michigan's agricultural industry, providing a $5.1 billion impact on the state's economy.

This month the International Dairy Foods Association said it has learned the EPA will exempt the industry from the rule.

But state lawmakers say they won't let up until that is official.

In the meantime, Konkel and other dairy farmers are in limbo.

"The federal government has gotten out touch what's going on in rural America," said Konkel. "This is our livelihood."

I'm so glad our bureaucratic elites are in charge. Who knew we were in danger from a massive milk spill, coating birds and turtles, fouling beaches for miles upon miles!?
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AZRedhawk44

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2010, 10:27:21 AM »
Yep.  The smell could wrinkle noses of tourists in Iowa, for HUNDREDS OF YARDS from the site of the spill... for hours!

And won't someone please think of the children?  What will they do if we irresponsibly spill their milk?  I weep at the thought.
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MechAg94

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2010, 10:47:57 AM »
Yeah, just think of all the overweight cats such a spill would produce. 
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longeyes

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2010, 11:36:42 AM »
"The environment" is a total behavioral control system that is God's bureaucracy.  Just relax and enjoy it.  More is on the way.
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HankB

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2010, 12:27:34 PM »
Just wait until Federal bureaucrats decide to start regulating backyard gardens . . .
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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2010, 12:28:08 PM »
I thought runoff that collects nitrogen-rich farm animal waste has a much greater impact on waterways than spilt milk.  Why the hell are these moronic legislators wasting their time on such a tiny issue?  Are there milk tankers running aground in rivers regularly, or something else that I don't know about?
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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2010, 01:30:48 PM »
I thought runoff that collects nitrogen-rich farm animal waste has a much greater impact on waterways than spilt milk.  Why the hell are these moronic legislators wasting their time on such a tiny issue?  Are there milk tankers running aground in rivers regularly, or something else that I don't know about?

yeah pretty much
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mtnbkr

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2010, 05:50:13 PM »
My BIL is a volunteer firefighter with hazmat training.  I learned about the milk issue when a milk truck turned over in his hometown a few months ago.  Turns out, it is a hazmat issue because it will pollute a waterway and kill everything in it.

Might not be the same as a barrel of crude or a tanker of pesticide, but it doesn't sound like something I'd way to see at my local creek or river.

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2010, 05:55:21 PM »
How often do we have massive milk spills in the US? Is this a more pressing problem than, say, Iran detonating a EMP nuke over one of the coasts?

dm1333

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2010, 06:33:56 PM »
Quote
Are there milk tankers running aground in rivers regularly, or something else that I don't know about?

I responded to a milk spill once from an overturned truck at the intersection of HWY1 and HWY 128 in California.  Except for the stink of milk that had started to spoil in the sun there wasn't much carnage.

Tallpine

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2010, 08:24:12 PM »
There is a Milk River in Montana  :P
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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2010, 08:41:19 PM »
How often do we have massive milk spills in the US?

I've been responsible for about a 1500 gallon spill, and I've seen plenty of milk tankers wreck and spill.  It smells bad, and yes it can kill fish, but unlike an oil spill, after a couple of weeks, the environment springs back just fine.  Cleanup is also much easier, since you just have to gather the milk and/or contaminated soil, and contain it somewhere for a few weeks.  In most cases, for a tanker spill, they just dam up the ditches, pump the loose milk to another tanker for disposal, and let the soaked soil sit for a month or so before they reopen the ditch.

Ron

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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2010, 08:44:23 PM »
They need to set up an emergency herd of hogs, they would be "on call" to clean up milk spills when they happen.
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Re: Yep, the solution HAS to be more regulation
« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2010, 10:31:42 AM »
This is what happens when govt gets too big.
Personally, I do not understand how a bunch of people demanding a bigger govt can call themselves anarchist.
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