Congressman Pomeroy Announces USDA Pilot Program to Address EPA Fuel Storage Rules
New program gives farmers and ranchers technical and financial assistance to develop oil spill contingency plans
Washington,
Oct 21 -
Today, Congressman Pomeroy announced a new U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) pilot program that will provide technical assistance for producers in North Dakota and seven other states affected by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations. Without this assistance, North Dakota producers would face challenges complying with new federal EPA regulations aimed at preventing fuel storage spills.
The pilot program will be administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), which will provide up to $3 million in federal funds to help farmers and ranchers comply with SPCC regulations. This program was announced by Chief of USDA NRCS Dave White in Pembina, North Dakota, today. The agency will help develop or update existing spill prevention plans that avoid and mitigate on-farm oil spillage.
"I understood that these EPA regulations were announced far too late for our farmers who are busy with this year’s bumper harvest, which is why I fought to delay the rule’s implementation for a year," Congressman Pomeroy said. "I am pleased USDA is stepping up to help our producers get in compliance with the rule. Now producers in North Dakota can contact the Natural Resources Conservation Services to get technical and financial assistance with complying with these regulations."
These EPA SPCC regulations will go into effect in November of 2011 for producers who have aboveground fuel storage capacity greater than 1320 gallons. This pilot program will help producers with the new fuel storage requirements and also help them maintain a spill prevention plan. The regulations were initially supposed to go into effect in November of 2010, but Congressman Pomeroy fought to give producers an additional year and the necessary support to meet these regulations.
Congressman Pomeroy is the only Member of Congress with a seat on both the Ways and Means and Agriculture Committees, which gives him unique influence over legislation affecting North Dakota’s agriculture community.
Producers looking for more information on these EPA regulations can visit www.nrcs.usda.gov.
