House Blocks EPA Farm Dust Regulations

Concerns about government overreach and overregulation are among the the most common complaints I've heard in town hall meetings this year. And no government regulation has inspired more justified outrage recently among Oklahomans than the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed new rules controlling farm dust.

The EPA announced earlier this year that it was considering tightening its "coarse particulate matter" standards under the Clean Air Act to such strict levels that farmers and ranchers could be deemed out of compliance. These standards, which are reviewed every five years, are meant to protect the public from pollutants found in urban areas, such as industrial soot and automobile emissions.

The proposed new standards would expand the reach of Clean Air Act regulations far beyond their original purpose while burdening farmers and ranchers with cumbersome new requirements to avoid being penalized simply for doing their jobs.

This is one of the most absurd ideas to come out of the EPA in a long time. Oklahoma's farmers and ranchers are responsible stewards of their land. We don't need the federal government coming in and enforcing excessive regulations that will do nothing but raise costs and hurt productivity. This is one more example of the regulatory overreach by the Obama administration that is stifling job creation.

In hearing testimony earlier this year, Arizona farmer and Farm Bureau representative Kevin Rogers stated that the new standards could potentially force farmers in his dust-prone area to adopt practices such as: "tillage based on soil moisture, not working fields in windy conditions, modifying equipment, speed limits on unpaved roads, planting windbreaks and permanent cover crops." Oklahomans can imagine how much planting would get done if work was halted on windy days in our state.

Fortunately, the House of Representatives has taken action to protect the agriculture industry from these crushing requirements. I am a cosponsor of H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, which passed the House on December 8. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support. The legislation prevents the EPA from issuing new regulations for one year and prohibits them from enforcing standards that exceed state and local rules already in place. Predictably, the White House is threatening to veto this commonsense policy, but I urge Congress to stand with farmers and override any veto.

One day before blocking dust regulation, the House passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. This bill would reform the regulatory process to require Congressional approval of any new regulation that would have an annual economic impact of $100 million or more.

The number of House-passed jobs bills awaiting Senate action now stands at 27. Several of them, like the REINS Act and Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, would protect America's job creators from the uncertainty and increased costs caused by the Obama administration's excessive regulations.

The White House and Senate Democrats continue to insist that we must spend money we don't have in order to create jobs. However, legislation like the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act highlights how economic growth can be encouraged simply by removing limits imposed by government overreach.