Why are Dems Pushing to exempt Corp Ag from Super fund?

[nosmokes]

Aside from the *war fiasco,*this is exactly the sorta shit (no pun intended) that drives people insane over the democratic party. Supposedly the party of the people. If they're siding with Tyson then WTF is standing up for keeping the water clean for reglar people?

original-politico

Feathers fly over pollution legislation

By: Erika Lovley
Oct 2, 2007 07:10 PM EST

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson is raising a stink over manure.

Fed up with manure runoff from farms polluting his state’s waterways, Edmondson is suing a batch of upstream poultry farms, including several owned by Tyson Foods, which he says have been irresponsible with their waste management and should be prosecuted under the Superfund law.

The suit, which has been ongoing since 2005, has set off a panic in the agriculture community and a lobbying frenzy on Capitol Hill, where many fear the case will open the door for other large-scale or factory farms to be penalized with hefty pollution taxes.

Edmondson, a Democrat, testified at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting last month, where lawmakers considered whether massive quantities of manure from confined animal feeding operations should be considered toxic waste under Superfund laws.

Nearly identical pieces of the legislation have been introduced by agriculture committee members Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), who both have the same mission: protecting industrial farms from being named as environmental hazards or Superfund sites.

The bill, which would keep large manure producers from being prosecuted under Superfund, has already won bipartisan support and has more than 150 co-sponsors in the House and about 25 sponsors in the Senate — many, like Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), from farming-intensive states.

“I introduced this legislation to clarify that Congress never intended for livestock manure to be classified under the Superfund laws,” said Lincoln, whose state houses Tyson’s headquarters.

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complete article |here

[AX10]

1. Local jobs could be at stake...

or it could just be that they have recieved sizable contributions from Tyson.

[DJ MEW]

3. unless Tyson moves to avoid US regulation on the manureit would create jobs.

Really a simple water treatment operation to break up the solids and start the process of bactirial breakdown would be enought to make the water safe to re-enter the water system. It would create a few jobs in waste management and have the added benifit of recuding the impact on the environment.

I would recommend requireing a simple trickeling filter water treatment process, they are pretty easy to maintian although are more expensive then standard packaged water treatment processes.

[DJ MEW]

2. clearly the build up of BS is happening in D.C. too

actually live stock waste in concentrated places is so toxic that the grasses and other plants that come in contact with it are still too toxic to feed to animals or be useful for other things. If anything they should be passing legislation that directly classifies livestock manure under the superfund laws.

[beachmom]

4. This is terrible, and it reminds me of many of the stories in the Kerrys' new book

This Moment on Earth. Pretty discouraging that some Dems aren't even on our side.

[MH1]

5. Bill numbers and links to thomas.loc.gov

HR 1398

S 807

Edit to fix links - I forgot DU mangles thomas links, grrr.