I am not making this up.
In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency adopted the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure program, which was designed to prevent oil discharges in navigable waters or near shorelines. At the time, it was assumed that the program would deal with, well, oil.
That was then.
Now the EPA has finalized rules that subject dairy farmers to the program. Dairy farmers?, you ask. Yup. The agency has decided that since milk contains "a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil", then it must take steps to protect the public against the catastrophic consequences of spilled milk. The new regulations will force farmers to file "emergency management" plans to show how they will deal with spilled milk, how "first responders" will be trained, and build "containment facilities" in the event that milk spills.
These regulations will of course result in higher prices for milk, but I suppose the threat to the public of spilled milk is worth the cost.
In Obama's State of the Union address, he talked about getting rid of regulations that are "just plain dumb". This would be a good place to start.
In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency adopted the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure program, which was designed to prevent oil discharges in navigable waters or near shorelines. At the time, it was assumed that the program would deal with, well, oil.
That was then.
Now the EPA has finalized rules that subject dairy farmers to the program. Dairy farmers?, you ask. Yup. The agency has decided that since milk contains "a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil", then it must take steps to protect the public against the catastrophic consequences of spilled milk. The new regulations will force farmers to file "emergency management" plans to show how they will deal with spilled milk, how "first responders" will be trained, and build "containment facilities" in the event that milk spills.
These regulations will of course result in higher prices for milk, but I suppose the threat to the public of spilled milk is worth the cost.
In Obama's State of the Union address, he talked about getting rid of regulations that are "just plain dumb". This would be a good place to start.
No comments:
Post a Comment