2012 House and Senate FARM BILL Updates:
Farmers Deserve Better!
The House Agriculture Committee approved 35-11, their version of the 2012 Farm Bill., the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM). Their version includes 35 billion in 10-year savings achieved through major cuts in the food stamp and commodity programs. For the first time since the 1985 (since the conservation programs were established in the Farm Bill), Congress is making huge cuts to these programs, to the tune of $6 billion.
The Farm Bill, which is reauthorized every five years, expires on September 30. In addition to the mammoth conservation program cuts the House bill also cuts significant acreage from the Conservation Stewardship Program. The same dangerous pesticides amendment (HR 872) that was introduced initially on the Senate side, is now part of FARRM in sec.10017. This section would overturn the Clean Water Act requirement that entities obtain permits before spraying pesticides directly into or near waters. This would axe all Clean Water Act protections for pesticides that are sprayed directly into streams, rivers, lakes, and other waters. Supporters of this pro-pesticide industry amendment want to eliminate the Clean Water Act safety review.
As if that were not enough, FARRM also weakens the link between federal support and conservation compliance. This basic covenant between farmers and taxpayers assures that in return for receiving federal subsidies, including crop insurance subsidies, farmers should meet some basic eligibility requirements including protecting erodible soils and not draining wetlands on their property. This covenant between farmers and taxpayers is critical for reducing soil erosion, protecting wetlands, reducing downstream flooding risk, and decreasing nutrient pollution into rivers, lakes and streams. With the farm subsidy system set to shift away from direct payments, it is critical that conservation compliance be linked to taxpayer subsidized crop insurance, which is now largest of the federal benefits farmers receive.
CWN and others supported the Soil and Wetlands Conservation Amendment, championed successfully by Senators Chambliss (GA) and Ben Cardin (MD) in the Senate. The amendment would modernize the soil and wetland conservation provisions by reattaching highly erodible land (HEL) and wetland conservation to the receipt of federal crop and revenue insurance premium subsidies. This important Amendment would ensure that taxpayer funds are not rewarding agricultural producers who are draining wetlands or farming highly erodible land without conservation measures. Unfortunately a companion amendment for the House bill did not successfully materialize.
It is also critically important that a sodsaver provision be a national, rather than a regional provision. A national sodsaver provision was included in the final Senate bill, but the House bill only includes a a regional provision. A sodsaver provision would limit the amount of federal subsidies a farmer can get on native prairie that they decide to convert to cropland. This provision is critical for protecting remaining native grasslands. Native grassland is one of the most quickly declining ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on grasslands are declining at alarming rates.Many of the areas of remaining grassland outside of the Prairie Pothole Region are in drought prone areas. Including a national sodsaver in the Farm Bill will help to strengthen the farm safety net by assuring that limited federal funds are used to sustain the most productive acres, not to incentivize production on lands that are too dry, marginal or flood-prone to produce good crops.
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Atlantic Voice
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Links to Articles and Reports:
A copy of an article from Politico on the U.S. House Farm Bill Agriculture Committee passage of their Farm Bill version can be accessed HERE.
To access an excellent blog post from our friends at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, on the House Agriculture Committee's Markup click HERE.
For a complete update on Senate Floor action on all amendments that were offered to the Farm bill click HERE.
To access an excellent update on the House Farm Bill discussion draft from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition click HERE.
To access a statement from the National Family Farm Coalition on the Senate bill Click HERE.
An article, Conservation Efforts fail can be found through this link: http://ecowatch.org/2012/speak-farm-bill/
A FARRM statement from Food and Water Watch: http://ecowatch.org/2012/house-fails-farmers/
General article from the NYT about FARRM cuts/new provisions:
Johns Hopkins Center for Livable Future recently released a great science brief on the link between conservation compliance and public health: https://filemanager.capwiz.com/filemanager/file-mgr/livablefuture/1_Protect_Environmental_Compliance_Programs.pdf
CWN is compiling another fact sheet outlining key environmental provisions in the House Farm Bill. Stay tuned for more updates.
Additional Farm Bill Resources & Information:
Click HERE to download NWF's Fact Sheet on Conservation Compliance
Click HERE to see a collection of Farm Bill fact sheets, articles & sign-on letters on CWN's website.
Kalamazoo River Oil Spill Did Not Need to Happen says NTSB!
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report this week stating that the massive Kalamazoo River oil spill did not have to happen! Click on the link below for additional details:
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20120710/NEWS01/307100003/NTSB-Enbridge-saw-crack-5-yrs-before-rupture?odyssey=nav&nclick_check=1
American Rivers Alert
This message comes to us from our friends at American Rivers.
Late in June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill (HR 2578) that waives protections like Wild and Scenic designation and gives the Department of Homeland Security authority to control public lands and protected rivers within 100 miles from our borders with Canada and Mexico. The bill also waives fundamental environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act within the 100-mile corridor. If passed, this law would gut more than a century of conservation and public lands protection. For more information on this disastrous bill click on the link below. Please urge your Senators not to support such an disastrous piece of legislation.
http://www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/blog/dnonemacher-20120712-no-conservation-zone.html
New GAO Report on Non-Point Source Pollution Published
This report was started in the waning days of Transportation and Infrastructure former Chairman James Oberstar (MN), and has some compelling findings regardingwater quality impacts of farm bill programs. To access the report click on the following link:
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-335
NEW GAO Report on TMDL's to Start:
GAO Requests help from clean water community!
Congress recently asked GAO to review EPA's TMDL Program. GAO was asked to (1) identify the roles and responsibilities of EPA and the states in developing and implementing TMDLs, (2) assess the status of long-established TMDLs, and (3) evaluate the extent to which long-established TMDLs helped states achieve water quality standards. They are beginning the project now and are interested in speaking with environmental community experts who can share experiences with the TMDL program on the state and local levels. The clients for this report are Senators Boxer (CA) and Cardin (MD). To contact Nathan email him at AndersonN@gao.gov. We will also be providing the GAO project team with a list of names of CWN members who have considerable expertise in this area.
House and Senate Voting Charts 2012
Click HERE to access the House of Representatives' chart and HERE for the Senate chart, to see how your members of Congress voted on key environmental issues. We are also including key committee votes as well. This is a work in progress. Will continue to add to these charts as the year progresses.
EPA Looking for Economists to Attend Meeting
Water is vital to a productive and growing economy in the United States, and directly affects the production of many goods and services. On behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water, Industrial Economics, Incorporated is seeking nominees from both the private and public sectors to attend and participate in a technical workshop that will seek independent input on (1) water's contribution to the U.S. economy, (2) current capabilities to analyze and estimate this contribution, and (3) the steps necessary to improve our understanding of water's economic contributions. The workshop will be held in Washington, DC on September 19, 2012. The format will include presentations on commissioned research and a combination of expert panels and group discussion. Interested parties should review the request for nominations, available on-line at
Webinar NEWS!
Proposed NPDES Rule Presentation Webinar July 17th
ALL CWN Members & Partners Welcome!
Space is limited so reserve your Webinar seat NOW!
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/351186401
EPA, joined by Clean Water Network, River Network and the Environmental Integrity Project, invite you to a presentation on EPA's Proposed NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule. The NPDES e-Reporting Rule is taking advantage of 21st century technologies to improve the availability of NPDES information to the Public, States and EPA through electronic reporting directly from the NPDES permittees. The presentation will include the purpose, public benefits and implementation as well as the schedule for the proposed rule.
Thanks for all you do to protect our nation's waters! Have a happy and safe summer enjoying your local waterways!
