Animal waste is NOT hazardous waste. We have to stop this talk and action before it goes any further. If we allow this to happen, it will pave the road for the Oklahoma Attorney General’s lawsuit and others will follow. Think about this: Will riding clubs be allowed to participate in parades and if so, will there need to be haz-mat teams in protective suits following along behind to clean up any “spills?” What about the county and state fairs and the livestock barns? Will we be required to have special teams to clean up? Will we even be able to hold livestock shows and fairs or will the barns be declared hazardous waste sites? What if your dog does his thing on the neighbors yard? Would that be grounds for a lawsuit? How far could this far-fetched idea go? When money becomes involved (and it will) there is no limit to how crazy this idea will be used for those who want to make an easy buck.

What about all the productive grass and crop fields that have had poultry litter land applied? If it is determined that animal waste is hazardous waste – will these fields be considered dump sites and have to be cleaned up and if so – at whose expense?

As agriculturists, you know how ridiculous this is but believe it or not, it will be soon be before Congress in Bill HR4134.
Please contact your elected officials and ask them to co-sponsor HR 4134.  This bill clarifies that Congress never intended that animal manure be regulated as hazardous waste under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA-Superfund law). 

There are two ongoing lawsuits targeting animal agriculture as hazardous waste.  One lawsuit is by the City of Waco, Texas, against 14 dairies in the Lake Waco watershed.  The other has been filed by Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson against several poultry companies, claiming that the poultry litter being land-applied in the Illinois River watershed is hazardous waste and the poultry companies are responsible for necessary response costs for waste clean-up and damages.

If poultry litter being land applied in the Illinois River watershed is found by the court to be hazardous waste, there will be negative consequences for all animal agriculture in the United States. It will open the door for billions of dollars lawsuits against the agriculture community everywhere.
 
Please call or write your Senator and/or Congressman:

Arkansas Senators
 
The Honorable Senator Mark Pryor
217 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-2353

The Honorable Blanche Lincoln
708 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
202-224-4843

Arkansas Congressional Districts

District 1
The Honorable Marion Berry
1113 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-4076

District 2
The Honorable Vic Snyder
1319 Longworth HOB
Washington DC 20515
202-225-2506

District 3
The Honorable John Boozman
1708 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-4301

District 4
The Honorable Mike Ross
314 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-3772


Oklahoma Senators

The Honorable Jim Inhofe
453 Russell Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4721

The Honorable Tom Coburn
B40D Dirksen Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5754

Oklahoma Congressional Districts

District 1
The Honorable John Sullivan
114 Cannon House Offices Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-2211

District 2
The Honorable Dan Boren
216 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-2701

District 3
The Honorable Frank Lucas
2342 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5565

District 4
The Honorable Tom Cole
236 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6165

District 5
The Honorable Ernest Istook
2404 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-2132