Pollution Breaks for Factory Farms?

Environmental groups allege the Bush administration might want to give large, so-called “factory farms” a break under the Clean Air Act and Superfund laws. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

Environmental groups allege the Bush administration might want to give large, so-called “factory
farms” a break under the Clean Air Act and Superfund laws. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


Environmental groups contend that the livestock industries have asked the EPA not to require
they comply with the Clean Air Act and Superfund hazardous waste laws.


Andrew Hanson is an attorney with Midwest Environmental Advocates. He says the big farms
pump out large amounts of air pollutants like ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic
compounds and particles.


“Those four categories of air pollution can be very harmful to people who live near these
operations, live near these manure pits and live near those free-stall barns that house thousands of
cows.”


A coalition of environmental groups has filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit, asking the Bush
administration to disclose any negotiations with the meat industry. But the White House says it is
not cutting any deals with the owners of large farms.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Chuck Quirmbach, reporting.

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