DETROIT, Mich. (WOWO) — After more than five years of delays and court challenges, Michigan’s environmental regulators are finally enforcing stricter pollution controls on large factory farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) updated its general pollution discharge permit to protect waterways from manure and urine from cows, pigs, and chickens raised in confined conditions according to Bridge Michigan. Under the new rules:
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Spreading manure is banned from January through most of March to prevent runoff from frozen ground.
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Grassy buffer zones are required along rivers and creeks.
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Large CAFOs must follow enhanced reporting requirements.
EGLE Director Phil Roos announced the changes Wednesday, noting the lengthy process to implement the rules. “It has been five-and-a-half years — a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Roos said.
The stricter measures had been delayed by years of legal battles with the Michigan Farm Bureau and other farming interests, which opposed stronger pollution controls first proposed in 2020. Officials say the new rules are a critical step in protecting Michigan’s waterways from industrial farm pollution.
2 comments
Oh dear!
🤔 So now, there’s going to be a push to have everything out of the stalls/pens/corrals by the end of December?
The Environmental Regulators really know how to muck things up. …i knew it was just a matter of time until Christmas was on the chopping block.
Eventually, ..we’ll all be Dreaming of a White Christmas, eh?
The bigger issue SHOULD BE regulating the size or these large scale CAFO’s in the first place.
They disrupt communities. Especially the dairy operations.
If Environmental Regulators are really concerned about protecting the waterways, think about all the people that eventually have to drill deeper wells, because the neighbouring dairy is expanding, …again.
When a cow can drink ~40 gallons of water a day, produce 7 gallons of milk, the rest has to go somewhere!!
It’s eventually going to make its way to the ditches, thru tile, despite these regulations; granted, a lesser concentration.
Limiting these ANIMAL concentrations, and you don’t need to have all these Regulations.
Otherwise, might wanna place Nose Plugs on your Christmas Apparel list.