WASHINGTON - Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., has asked three federal agencies to halt regulations on livestock emissions.
Hoeven pressed the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency to not impose the policies that he said could cost cattle producers thousands of dollars.
“We need common-sense rules and regulations in this nation, not one-size-fits-all mandates that don’t work in the real world,” Hoeven said in a release. “Our farmers’ and ranchers’ livelihoods are dependent upon the land, and they have real stake in protecting the environment. Imposing costly and unnecessary regulations on livestock emission will not only hurt our livestock producers but American families and our economy.”
The letter is in response to President Barack Obama’s Climate Action Plan “Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions,” which asks the three agencies to develop a plan to reduce dairy sector methane greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020, according to the release. The mandates could cost medium-sized dairy farms up to $22,000 and medium-sized cattle farms up to $27,000.
An appropriations bill is preventing the EPA from regulation greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock production, but it expires Oct. 1. Officials at the agencies are expected to come up with a plan in the following weeks.
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The letter was signed by Hoeven and 15 other Republican senators.
