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Thursday, February 02, 2006
Environment - IDEM: No enforcement on CAFOs for next 3 years
The Brownfield Network (America's Ag News Source) reports today:
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) was the black sheep of state government.Governor Daniels, in his campaign, had made it an example of how state government was not working. Today IDEM is a much different place. IDEM Commissioner Tom Easterly said the agency has undergone a culture change, “I have stressed to each one of our 900 employees that the economy along with the environment is important and that working with farmers and industry is our job.”
He stressed, in a frank and candid address to the Indiana Pork Producers state convention this week, that his agency wants to work with producers to make sure the regulations are clear and fair, and that communications are open and ongoing.
For example he told the producers IDEM will suspend enforcement of Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permits until the EPA has cleared up the confusion surrounding CAFOs. This is the result of a court decision that threw out previous EPA regulations on CAFOs. “Until we know what the federal rules are, it makes no sense to enforce them,” said Easterly. He said no enforcement action will be taken for at least the next 3 years.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 2, 2006 05:12 PM
Posted to Environment