Political Quotes

“in light of the June 27, 2000 hearing on water pollution and the impact of EPA's proposed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) rules on agriculture and silviculture, I would like to express my disappointment with the EPA approach to this problem and voice my support for Representative Berry's amendment to cut funding from the office of the Undersecretary for Natural Resources and the Environment. In recent years, public concerns about surface water contamination by nutrients, in particular nitrogen and phosphorus, has intensified as agricultural practices have been identified as a significant contributor to non-point source pollution. While we have made great progress in the past 30 years at cleaning up our waterways through addressing both point and non-point source pollution, much room for improvement still remains. The EPA idea of Total Maximum Daily Loading was introduced to address these problems directly, but unfortunately calls for unreasonable and unrealistic changes in our current pollution prevention programs. Though I have long recognized the importance of managing agricultural nutrients in a manner that both sustains agricultural profitability while protecting the environment, I am strongly opposed to EPA's TMDL plan, and equally disappointed with the extreme lack of communication, consistency, and straightforwardness by the Department of Agriculture on behalf of American farmers.”