Hurricane's Oil Spill Impact & Checking Permits

Hurricane's Oil Spill Impact & Checking Permits plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Now that hurricane season is here the questions are being asked what impact that would have on the BP oil spill clean up. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate says past clean up models and scientific consultation will determine how best to approach clean up of the recent oil spill in the event of hurricanes. FUGATE: I don't think the oil is going to come ashore in a hurricane like it's coming ashore now. So that's the question we're asking the scientific community – what would it come to shore as, how would it look and would there have to be any different response and until we have that we're basing it upon the fact that we've had to do clean up of hazardous chemical spills, oil spills, tank farms and other petroleum products. Probably the big difference here The EPA says it will initiate a new national effort to track down concentrated animal feeding operations operating without permits and determine for itself if they must be regulated. This action is the result of an agreement between EPA and the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Waterkeeper Alliance. The three groups filed suit against EPA last year saying EPA rules effectively exempted thousands of what they call factory farms from keeping animal waste out of waterways protected by the Clean Water Act. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. What do you do with prison inmates with too much time on their hands, you put them to work. Similar to, but not to be confused with the barbaric or archaic "chain gangs" of old, inmates in Idaho are being put to work growing and harvesting fresh produce such as potatoes, beans corn, and carrots for local food banks. Personally, I think it's a wonderful idea. The inmates are given something productive to do to occupy their time and the food banks receive much needed food. With an over abundance of prison inmates having idle time on their hands and an ever increasing number of people needing food assistance causing food bank shortages it only made sense to put such a project into effect. Donations of seed, fertilizer and gardening supplies from private sectors have made the whole project affordable and possible. Contrary to what some might believe, these "prison gardeners" are not being cruelly and unusually punished or exploited, they are being given an opportunity to repay their debt to society in a rewarding manner. As inmate James Robinson said, "Prisoners growing crops on public land for public good; they should have started this a long time ago." Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.