EPA's milk-spill rules spur concern

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not completely backed away from a proposal that could treat milk spilled on farms as if it were oil — although officials say they are working on a way to avoid such a rule.

Lawmakers are pushing harder to make sure the EPA keeps its word.

At issue are regulations dealing with oil-spill responses in the wake of last year's spill in the Gulf of Mexico, although the issue of milk as oil is older than that. Technically, the EPA determined, milk is comparable to oil because of its butterfat content. Farms with even modest-sized bulk milk tanks would have to prepare spill-response plans, and the biggest farms would have to have plans certified by an engineer, unless the agency exempts them.

So far, the exemption lawmakers and farm groups are seeking has not materialized.

"My suspicion and hope was that the EPA would act reasonably and see that this is not a responsible use of regulatory authority," said Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh.

Instead, Mr. Owens said this week, Congress may have to step in with legislation to block any such regulation. He said he will sign on to legislation proposed by Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., to do so.

In the meantime, conservative Republicans have locked on to the issue as an example of runaway federal regulation.

The issue surfaced last year. Last month, the EPA issued final regulations that did not entirely drop the notion that dairy farms should be subject to some level of regulation. Officials, however, have extended an overall deadline for implementing the rules to address the milk issue.

Mr. Owens on Friday joined on a letter with other House members to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that urges the agency to exempt milk storage quickly from the spill regulations.

"While this issue has been brought up before, it has failed to come to a close, and continues to loom over the heads of dairy producers who are already under economic duress," they wrote.

The lawmakers said a law already exists to protect farmers — the 1995 Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act, which mandates that federal agencies differentiate among oils, animal fats and grease in their regulations.