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Thursday, December 04, 2014

With Publication of New Phosphorus Rules, Groups Call on Maryland General Assembly to Act

Latest Version of Rules to Reduce Pollution by Better Controlling Manure Provide Several Exemptions for Farmers and a Six-Year Phase In

(Annapolis, MD) – With today’s publication in the Maryland Register of new rules to better control manure, a coalition of nonprofit organizations called on the Maryland General Assembly to support the proposed Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT) regulation. A new phosphorus rule has been proposed three times in the last two years but has been repeatedly delayed due to pressure from industry lobbyists and legislative leaders.

Today a 30-day public comment period on the regulation begins, and the Maryland Administrative, Executive & Legislative Review committee has the opportunity to review and comment on them.

The Maryland Clean Agriculture Coalition says the latest version of the regulation includes a reasonable implementation plan for the state-of-the-art tool, as well as several exemptions for certain farms and a six-year phase-in timetable.

“Studies show phosphorus pollution is getting worse, not better – yet this regulation has been repeatedly delayed,” said Karla Raettig of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. “It’s time for the Maryland legislature, with leadership from President Miller and Speaker Busch, to swiftly endorse them.”

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does anyone actually believe this touchy feely garbage? There is not a single scientific paper to support the claims made in this article. In fact, the UMD study that the PMT is supposedly based on is not complete and no results have been sent for peer review. This boondoggle is going to be a major hit for the primary industry on the shore.

Anonymous said...

Larry Hogan to the rescue -- see this post:

http://www.sbynews.blogspot.com/2014/12/larry-hogan-vows-to-kill-phosphorus.html

Anonymous said...

Here's a thought, when the chicken company comes to pick up the chickens from the farm to take them to slaughter, there should be two trucks....the other one picks up the manure - the chicken company is responsible for 'proper' disposal. One chicken company in the area already has a process for manure disposal - they're just not required to use it in every case...meanwhile, they could take manure from other 'brands' at a nominal fee.....

Remember this manure process is based in a business friendlier state of Delaware - so we're shipping business of to another area!