STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH

Duane A. Lienemann
UNL Extention Educator

Webster County 
April 5, 2013 Edition
 There is some good news for our area farmers and ranchers, believe it or not, from the Federal bureaucracy concerning the Spill-Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) rules. What is the good news?  Are you sitting down? The “new” regulations requiring farms with on-farm tanks and drums with oil-storage capacity of over 1320 gallons to have spill-prevention measures in place have been delayed from their May 10 enforcement date until September 30, 2013!  A lot of collective farmer/rancher prayers have been answered.  Instead of worrying about compliance or filling out forms to satisfy the regulations set forth by the EPA, farmers can instead focus on getting ready for planting their crops, and ranchers can concentrate on hay shortage and when and if they can utilize pastures. That wind you heard last night was a large collective sigh of relief generated by thousands of producer across the United States.
     The SPCC rule enforcement delay proposal originated in the Senate, which approved an amendment (Senate Amendment 29) offered by Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and James Inhofe (R-OK). The two lawmakers previously introduced a separate bill (S. 496) to provide relief from the Environmental Protection Agency's costly SPCC regulation.  The extended enforcement window offers an opportunity for Congress to take additional legislative action regarding the SPCC rule and its enforcement. They are still working on getting this cumbersome and confusing rule set aside for farmers and ranchers. The hope is that this delay will give them time to gather support to throw this thing out completely for farmers or at least make it so that it is not so confusing or difficult to undertake.  It also gives some breathing room to the bulk of farmers who were worried about making compliance with the EPA and also get their crops planted.
     The Pryor/Inhofe Amendment was linked to legislation to fund federal government operations for the second half of FY 2013. The amendment provides for a delay of the May 10 enforcement date requiring on-farm tanks and drums with oil-storage capacity to have spill-prevention measures and plans in place or face penalties. Federal lawmakers passed the FY 2013 Continuing Resolution (H.R. 933), which President Obama is expected to sign.  The measure contains the spill-prevention, control and countermeasures (SPCC) rule postponement through September 30, 2013.  Some funding provided in the bill is subject to the president's sequestration order, which will reduce total discretionary spending in FY 2013 from $1.043 trillion to $984 billion. That sequestration fiasco may actually be the reason that we have a reprieve from this added workload for farmers and ranchers which is with compliments of the Environmental Protection Agency. 
     I know that there is a lot of angst, confusion, frustration and perhaps some anger over this EPA regulation. It is no secret that farmers are not happy with all the regulations and proposed regulations that have surfaced over the last several years including EPA’s concern with milk spills, dust and particulates, and pesticides to name just a few.  They look at all of this as an attempt to regulate farms and other small businesses out of business.  The costs of the overreach of the EPA and other governmental agencies, like the Department of Labor (child labor fame) through regulations rules and threats can eventually lead to the undermining of the very industry that is keeping the US Economy from collapsing. The farm sector and positive exports of agricultural commodities globally is of a magnitude never seen before. Look at what it has done for the Nebraska economy. Can you imagine what it would be in Nebraska if we didn’t have farms?
     We all know how fickle prices and nature can be.  We never know when corn and soybeans prices may drop dramatically or when yields may take a nosedive.  Both which have been forecast for this year, and you know that input costs will not drop as fast. If you add the potential for more expenses brought to you by unnecessary or, at the very least, burdensome regulations brought on by ideology instead of solid, sound science.  I know that we have to be good stewards of our water and soil, but I believe the original environmentalist, the farmer, does a superb job and that should not be discounted.  The fact is that farming practices are continually evolving and it is most always to the benefit of our environment.  When you make a living off the land, or with the animals that live upon that land, it becomes a part of your soul. It becomes a part of you, and you do not hurt the very thing that you love or what holds your very security.
     I am hoping that Senators Pryor and Inhofe can succeed in getting this SPCC monkey off our farmer’s backs completely. If you are of that opinion, I suggest that you contact your Senator and let them know what you think. You can make a difference. Just look what happened when you extended yourselves to stop the Department of Labor’s effort to change farm child labor laws that would have been disastrous to many family farms. This is no longer the farming environment that was enjoyed by our forefathers. I always wonder what my two grandfathers would have to say about what is happening in today’s world. I just wonder what words they would use! Maybe I don’t!
     If you are of the mind that this will just be a delay and this regulation will still happen, and you may be right, then you may want to gather information so that it will not be last minute preparation come September.  I have given you several sources of information earlier, but you may want to watch, or at least save to your computer, the webinar that was presented on SPCC at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBwTlVy8izw&list=UUSHsdmu3o3cKY5C0DuZrBcg&index=1   Ok , now you can go back to your seed books and grease guns.  You have a reprieve, at least for a few months!

The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home