I have been hearing from many ranchers back in Oklahoma who have expressed concern with the EPA/USDA Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations. Generally, these comments criticize the federal government for coming into states and mandating a one-size-fits-all program that may or may not get to the heart of the problem. In Oklahoma, we have already passed significant legislation that deals with issues relating to the swine and poultry industries. I would like to introduce a one page analysis of the bill that was passed last year by the Oklahoma legislature that outlines all the new measures that poultry and swine operations must comply with.
I received a letter from the Oklahoma Secretary of Environment, Brian Griffin, that sums this up best. He states that "...federal intervention is unnecessary and could, in fact, have a negative impact on our ability to adequately address the problem at hand."
We have also received comments that address specific sections of the strategy, including the regulation of multiple animal feeding operations (AFO's) in a single water shed and questions regarding EPA's authority to regulate non- point source water pollution.
In section 4.5 of the strategy you address significant contributors to water quality impairment and state that even a collection of smaller AFO's that may cause impairment should be designated as CAFO's and are a priority for permit issuance and enforcement. You have elected to attack small independent operators who may not have the resources and may not be the significant contributor in a particular water shed. Potentially, you could be punishing an operator based simply on his location.
Questions have also been raised about EPA's authority to regulate nonpoint source issues under the Clean Water Act. Congress clearly meant for point source discharges to be regulated at the federal level and nonpoint source issues at the discretion of the states. Now you have potentially expanded your authority and are threatening to regulate some operators who would have never qualified as CAFO's prior to this plan. The EPA and USDA should pull back and let states continue their good work to solve these problems.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your time and I look forward to addressing these and other questions later. Thank you.