Monday, February 09, 2009
How Does Your State Score On Environmental Restrictions On Hog Operations?
As a new federal Environmental Protection Agency begins to examine its policies, will it find that its regulations are more lax or more stringent than current state regulations on large swine operations? They seem to be the lightening rod for agricultural environmental complaints, but how do federal laws compare to state regulations on pork producers, and for that matter, how do major hog states compare to each other?Over the past several decades there has been a substantial change in the complexion of the pork industry, and producers who were marketing a couple thousand head per year as “mortgage lifters” have given way to large operations that have their own strata of specialization. Along with the transformation has come a variety of regulations, which the January 28 edition of Cornhusker Economics reports as focused around zoning and environmental restrictions.
The Nebraska economists report that the regulations have caused increased expenses, which could not be borne by the smaller producers, yet heavy restrictions in some stations have caused producers to become more concentrated in other states, which lead to the explosive expansion in the North Carolina pork industry.
Federal regulations, which began with the Clean Water Act in 1972, have continued to become more stringent over time. Recent revisions have required Nutrient Management Plans and identified Best Management Practices, which all states must adopt by the end of this month. But many states have also imposed regulations on non-point source pollution. State level regulations have been widely variable, particularly in the top 10 pork production states:
1) Waste Management Plans are required by each of the top ten.
2) Facility Design Approval is required in the entire top ten.
3) Construction and Operation Permits are required by all ten.
4) Mandatory Record Keeping is required in all ten.
5) Odor Abatement Plans are required by all ten
6) Zoning is required in NC, MN, NE, and KS
7) Carcass handling is controlled in all ten states.
8) Hydrogen Sulfide is controlled in MN and IL.
9) Reports on Waste Spillage are required in all ten states.
10) Nutrient Management Plans are required in all ten.
11) Cost Share Programs are offered in all ten.
12) The federal location setback requirement is more restrictive in IA, NC, IL, MO, OK, and KS.
13) The federal manure application setback requirement is more restrictive in IA, IL, IN, and OK.
Based on an index of 2008 requirements, all of the top ten pork producing states either met or surpassed the restrictions set by the federal government, which had a score of 9. States with a score of twelve, included NE, MO, and OH. States with a restriction score of 13 included, IA, MN, IN, OK, and KS. NC and IL were the most restrictive with a score of 14.
The Nebraska researchers make the observation that the environmental regulations have the effect of protecting small hog operations, and any tightening of those regulations will be seen as an effort to save small hog producers. The impact of any regulation is felt in the cost of meeting the regulation for both large and small producers.
Summary:
A wide variety of environmental and zoning regulations are in place both within federal law and within the statutes of the states with the larger volumes of pork production. While many of the states have similar types of regulations, not all states address all of the issues and there is little duplication between states. Regulations are seen as a means to protect the smaller pork operation and any tightening of the regulations will be seen as an initiative in that direction.
Posted by Stu Ellis on 02/09 at 01:24 AM | Permalink