Klobuchar Urges EPA to Protect Farms, Businesses from Federal Dust Regulations

Press Release

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and a bipartisan group of 31 senators sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson urging the agency to consider retaining the current standard for dust and small particulate matter in light of the natural buildup of dust on farm fields and rural roads. Proposals to lower the standard would disproportionately impact businesses and families in rural areas, many of which already find it burdensome to meet current standards.

"Naturally occurring dust is a fact of life in rural America, and the creation of dust is unavoidable for the agricultural industry," the senators wrote in the letter. "Indeed, with the need to further increase food production to meet world food demands, regulations that will stifle the U.S. agriculture industry could result in the loss of productivity, an increase in food prices, and further stress our nation's rural economy."

The EPA is currently reviewing its National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter, including proposals to amend the standard.

Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition Committee. She is the author of the bipartisan Representation for Farmers Act, cosponsored by Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, which aims to add an agricultural perspective to the EPA's advisory board that is charged with recommending changes to environmental standards such as the new dust regulations.

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