FLEXIBILITY TO FARM ACT
H.R. 1304 — Introduced in House on Mar 20, 2013 by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI)
...To permit the chief executive of a State to create an exemption from certain requirements of Federal environmental laws for producers of agricultural commodities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "Flexibility to Farm Act".
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The agricultural community of the United States serves as the economic backbone of many communities and employs millions of Americans.
(2) In recent years, one-size-fits-all policies issued by the Environmental Protection Agency have increased dramatically, requiring agricultural producers to focus on regulation compliance rather than on growing the world's healthiest, most abundant food supply.
(3) Attempts by the Environmental Protection Agency to expand the definition of "navigable waters" under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act expand the scope of Federal jurisdiction under that Act well beyond the intent of Congress, and would eliminate a central precept of that Act, which reserves certain waters to the exclusive jurisdiction of the States.
(4) The Environmental Protection Agency's interpretation of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure program has attempted to regulate milk in the same manner as petroleum, requiring dairy farmers to develop oil spill prevention plans and moving far beyond common sense and the intent of the law.
(5) An increasing number of poultry and livestock operations have been forced to apply for permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System resulting from the Environmental Protection Agency's expanding definition of what constitutes a discharge under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
(6) Duplicative and costly permitting requirements under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act will require additional National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for pesticide applications, subjecting pesticide users to unnecessary red tape and financial burdens while exposing them to the threat of unfounded litigation.
(7) The Environmental Protection Agency has initiated a program to regulate greenhouse gases as "air pollutants" under the Clean Air Act, which could impose an undue burden on agricultural producers by requiring them to obtain permits to continue operations.
(8) The Federal Government should not impose further rules or regulations that are overly burdensome or cause economic hardship for the agricultural community.
