EPA concerned about feedlot rules

BOISE – Federal inspectors will visit Idaho cattle feedlots this winter or spring because they don’t think the state Department of Agriculture’s inspection program is doing an adequate job of keeping manure out of ditches, streams and rivers.

In a 2001 agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, the state agreed to enforce the Clean Water Act. But EPA officials say Idaho’s inspection program has “serious deficiencies,” which include a lack of enforcement.

“We feel strongly, in order to carry out the spirit of this agreement, the state has to be willing and able to take action when warranted,” Mike Bussell, EPA regional enforcement director, told the Idaho Statesman.

EPA officials said that Idaho has fallen short of its commitments to inspect feedlots every year since the agreement began. In 2002, the state said it would do 200 inspections, but completed 115. In 2003 the state committed to 600 inspections and did 328.

In 2004, the EPA conducted an audit of 15 facilities selected together with the state. Twelve had documented violations, the EPA said. The state had previously inspected those 15 facilities and found no violations.

But Idaho Department of Agriculture officials point to a highly publicized enforcement action July 20 against an Oakley feedlot in south-central Idaho that resulted in a proposed $600,000 fine as proof their program is effective. Officials also cite more than 1,600 inspections of 703 facilities conducted over the past four years.

“We have a great program, and we welcome the EPA to come out and have a look,” Wayne Hoffman, an Agriculture Department spokesman, said Monday. He said the department has asked the governor’s office for two more feedlot inspectors for the next fiscal year, which begins in July.