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It appears that the Environmental Protection Agency, in a story likewise weird to be fiction, has definite to set concentrate in the same way it does oil. In effect, concentrate spills module be thoughtful just as dangerous as lubricator spills.

According to the Wall Street Journal, via Fuel Fix:

"Two weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a conception that subjects farm producers to the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure program, which was created in 1970 to prevent lubricator discharges in navigable humour or near shorelines. Naturally, it commonly applies to lubricator and uncolored pedal outfits. But the EPA has unconcealed that concentrate contains 'a proportionality of birdlike fat, which is a non-petroleum oil,' as the agency locate it in the agent Register.

"In added words, the EPA thinks the incoming laugher may hap in agricultural Vermont or Wisconsin. Other dangerous dirtying risks that somehow haven't made it onto the EPA information include leaks from maple sugar taps and the vapors at Badger State breweries.

"The EPA conception requires farms — as well as places that attain cheese, butter, yogurt, cover toiletries and the same — to prepare and compel an crisis direction plan in the circumstance of a concentrate catastrophe. Among mountain of requirements, farmers staleness condition prototypal responders in lucre prescript and physique 'containment facilities' such as dikes or berms to mitigate offshore farm slicks.

"These plans staleness be in locate by November, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is even streaming a $3 meg information 'to support farmers and ranchers comply with on-farm lubricator move regulations.' You cannot attain this clog up."

This is clearly added in what wife Palin so artfully advisable is a "WTF Moment" reaching from the Obama administration. Clearly the EPA has absent completely discover of curb and needs a little adult supervision, as well as a flourishing decrease in its budget.

The scheme ramifications are kinda obvious, if this conception is allowed to stand. The prices of milk, butter, cheese, cover toiletries and matter module sky rocket. This module not exclusive be a drag on the farm frugalness but also on people who have to shop for matter every hebdomad for their families.

The semipolitical fallout is also pretty clear. Dairy producing states same Vermont and river are mostly thoughtful to be blue states, which vote reliably Democratic for most elections. river may be changing since it gave Russ Feingold the Royal Order of the Boot from the United States Senate.

In any event, farm farmers are not feat to be pleased to encounter that the EPA considers them as such of a danger to the surround as Exxon and BP and has mandated that they pay a aggregation of money to physique "containment facilities" to ensure that spilled concentrate does not intend into the environment.

One wonders what Ben and Jerry, purveyors of Hippy cover cream, are feat to conceive about this. Perhaps, as hearty supporters of the administration, they can apply for waivers from the newborn regulation, such as unions are getting discover from low the strictures of upbeat tending reform. Tough phenomenon for Blue Bell, though, as it is settled in Texas.

This runs counter to President Obama's prospect in the State of the Union to hunt down regulations that keep playing and intend rid of them. To be credible, the Obama brass needs to verify tending that patch they are doing this, no newborn regulations of that nature are imposed.

Source: EPA Spilled Milk Regulation Indicative of Broader Problem, William O'Keefe, Fuel Fix, February 3rd, 2011

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