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House Votes to Block EPA from Regulating Farm Dust

Press Release

Date: Dec. 8, 2011
Issues: Agriculture and Food Environment

Today Rep. Todd Rokita released this statement after voting for H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011, legislation that prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing regulations dealing with farm dust:

"I co-authored this legislation because it provides much needed regulatory certainty and protects farmers, ranchers and rural businesses in Indiana and across America from Washington bureaucrats who so lack understanding of America's rural economy, and basic common sense, that they want to regulate a naturally occurring substance like farm dust," Rokita said.

"In the rare cases where dust is serious threat to public safety, state and local governments are best positioned to address it, not Washington. Job-killing regulations are a serious problem facing farmers, small businesses and America's job creators, but the problem is exacerbated by an unresponsive, unaccountable Washington bureaucracy. Turning the tide against reckless federal regulations requires Congress to rein in the bureaucracy with initiatives like Red Tape Rollback, but also limit the reach of the federal government to issues within its Constitutional purview," Rokita added.

H.R. 1633 prohibits the EPA from issuing any new National Ambient Air Quality Standard for coarse particulate matter or "PM10", for at least a year. It also limits the EPA's ability to regulate dust where it is not regulated by state and local law.

Though the EPA says it has no plans to currently regulate farm dust, given other extreme actions of the EPA and third party groups, it is of little comfort to farmers, ranchers and rural businesses that would suffer from future regulation.

Over 185 organizations support this legislation, including Indiana Pork, Indiana Beef Cattle Association, the Indiana Farm Bureau, and the American Farm Bureau Federation.

H.R. 1633 passed with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 268-150.

Learn more about Red Tape Rollback at Rokita.House.Gov/RedTape


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