EPA Retains Dust Standards

EPA Retains Dust Standards

I’m KayDee Gilkey with today’s Open Range.

Friday the EPA announced that it would not raise regulations on dust under the Clean Air Act and will retain the Current Coarse Particulate Matter Standards. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Deputy Environmental Counsel Ashley McDonald says it is a good news for cattle producers and those living in rural America.

McDonald: “They’ve reviewed this particulate matter standard every five years. And the coarse standard or what we call dust is of great concern to cattlemen across the country. We already have areas of the country that really struggle to come into compliance with the current standard. So we were very worried when EPA staff had suggested that they may double the stringency of the standard. So we are very happy that the administrator came out and said the final standard, she is retaining the current dust standard.”

McDonald says because the rule is scheduled for review in five years, -- this isn’t the end of the battle. She says NCBA will continue to look for a legislative fix.

McDonald: “And because this is a five-year review process, we know that this issue is going to keep reoccurring unless we do something through legislation. That is the only way that agriculture and cattlemen, in particularly, will get permanent relief is if it is passed into law and amends the statute that says that dust is not regulated by the Clean Air Act.”