Reviewing Regulations & Guitar Business Out of Tune

Reviewing Regulations & Guitar Business Out of Tune. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized its plan to review dozens of regulations to ensure they are not overly burdensome. This is part of an administration-wide “lookback” mandated by President Obama. The plan offers the Obama administration an opportunity to counter Republican claims that EPA is imposing new regulations without thinking about their effect on the ailing economy. American Farm Bureau Regulatory Specialist Rick Krause says EPA may also provide farmers and states more flexibility in water quality programs.

KRAUSE: Allowing for greater flexibility in the water quality area and EPA says they’re going to be working with USDA to achieve that.

The head of Gibson Guitar Corp. said Thursday that the company is being unfairly targeted after a raid by federal authorities at factories in Memphis and Nashville.
He said that authorities didn't specify what they were investigating during Wednesday's raids, but have suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal. However he said his company has taken steps to ensure that its wood is properly imported. Guitars and other musical instruments are often built from tropical hardwoods, which are increasingly the focus of tight controls due to deforestation.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange report.

(Grange)

That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.