Farmers Unaware of New Agriculture Regulations;
May Increase Legal Environmental Job Opportunities

Farmers may be waking up to an unexpected visit from the EPA inspector following recent legislation increasing the environmental responsibilities imposed on farmers. Due to the successful regulation of other industries, the agriculture industry is being targeted for increased regulations as the largest cause of water pollution from pesticide, fertilizer, and concentrated animal feeding waste runoff. Many farmers are unaware of the effects newly implemented laws such as the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule may have on their operations and are at risk of being unknowingly subject to the new regulations. The SPCC rule aims to reduce oil spills by requiring certain facilities to put in place containment and other measures to prevent oil spills that could reach navigable waters. This rule includes not only petroleum oil, but also vegetable oils and animal fat (including milk!) Many farms have tanks large enough to be subject to these requirements and 95% of farms are still not in compliance with the preexisting rule.
There are also new requirements for the Risk Management Program due to be implemented on July 21, 2004. However, the new rule has not yet been signed by the Administrator, put on the EPA's website, or implemented into an outreach program. Since outreach is not in the EPA's statutory mandate, it is difficult to know who is responsible for informing farmers and others about these new rules and regulations.

Perhaps these new requirements and other efforts to promote environmental stewardship will someday become a prerequisite to be eligible for subsidies under the Farm Bill. Whatever the future holds, farmers will increasingly need advocates and legal representation in the environmental arena as new regulations increase the legal responsibilities on the agricultural industry.

For more information on environmental regulations that affect agriculture check out EPA's National Agricultural Compliance Assistance Center website at www.epa.gov/agriculture.