The Senate overwhelmingly approved the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) this week by a 95-3 vote. Agri Pulse said the bill will pay for waterway improvement projects in 30 states, as well as projects to improve delivery systems for drinking water. The bill also includes an exemption for some farmers with above-ground fuel storage tanks from Environmental Protection Agency requirements to prepare spill-control plans. Nebraska Republican Deb Fischer inserted the storage tank provision in the bill to give farmers some relief from the EPA’s Spill, Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures requirements. Fuel storage tanks of 1,000 gallons or less, or an aggregate capacity of not more than 2,000 gallons would be exempt from the rules. Containers that hold animal feed ingredients would also be exempt. Fischer said, “Most agricultural producers live miles away from the nearest source of fuel, so they have to rely on on-farm fuel storage to have access to the fuel when they need it. This ensures that they can maintain their on-farm storage and bring reasonable exemptions for small and medium sized farms as well as livestock producers.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.