Editorial: Federal Regs Often Complicated, Costly

Last week we discussed ozone and explained how the Environmental Protection Agency is studying tank-barge emissions as a possible source of smog in the Memphis area. This week we can report that three major companies have reached Clean Air Act agreements with the government. This supports EPA’s contention that the agency’s overall investigation is broad and not just aimed at the tank-barge industry.

Bunge North America Inc., based in Maryland Heights, Mo., reached a $13.9 million settlement, which covers 11 soybean processing plants and a corn dry mill extraction plant in eight states. When the changes at these plants are completed, they will eliminate 2,200 tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds per year. Bunge, which also will pay a civil penalty, recently completed more than 20 projects to reduce various plant emissions.

Archer Daniel Midland Company and Cargill Inc., also oilseed processing companies, are among other companies that reached Clean Air Act settlements.

We don’t question the need for or the financial amounts of these settlements. Ozone, as we explained last week, is a major problem demanding attention. The cost of federal regulations frequently is high, but it is not always apparent that it is excessive, considering the seriousness of the problems.

For example, in order to check the spread of the aquatic virus viral hemorrhagic septicemia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is banning the shipment of live fish from eight Great Lakes states. The ban covers 37 species of fish. Importing those species from Ontario and Quebec also is prohibited.

Fortunately, the virus—which is deadly to fish but of no risk to humans—has not been detected on any fish farm in the Great Lakes region. Still, the ban is playing havoc with those operations. Michigan alone has 47 fish farms, with combined sales of $2.4 million in 2005. Sam Flood, acting director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, wrote to the federal agency, saying, “This order will completely eliminate long-established trades of sport fish between state agencies that are crucial to the maintenance, restoration and enhancement of sport fish programs.”

The virus has long been a problem in Europe. It is thought to have been transported to the Great Lakes by way of water in ballast tanks of oceangoing cargo ships, which is also how zebra mussels were introduced to U.S. waterways.

While some fish farm operators said they were blindsided by the ban, the National Aquaculture Association, a fish farming trade group, specifically asked the government for regulations to help prevent the virus from spreading. The emergency ban came as a surprise, but the association president said he could understand why it was necessary. Without the emergency action, the movement of potentially infected live fish could continue for months while the federal agency deals with interim rules. Unfortunately, losses will mount. One operator said it already has cost him 70 percent of his business. If the virus were to go unchecked, is it reasonable to conclude that the industry could be destroyed totally?

Another interesting issue of late is the Coast Guard’s use of 34 live-fire zones on the Great Lakes to provide training grounds for those who are to protect the region against terrorists. The problem is twofold.

Environmentalists reportedly fear the lead that will be deposited in the lakes. The exercises are estimated to deposit as much as 6,900 pounds of lead and 2,800 pounds of copper in the lakes each year. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes Boating Federation says the estimated 430,000 bullets that will be fired each year may put boaters at risk. The federation is concerned about poor quality communications related to where and when exercises will be conducted and whether any of 4.3 million registered boaters will be in the line of fire.

The jury is still out on communication concerns, but the extent to which lead can impact the environment is less vague. Birds, not fish, reportedly suffer the greatest danger. Birds ingest small particles of lead, mistaking it for gravel. It is estimated that 2 percent of all waterfowl die each year from ingesting lead. A 1992 study found that 50 percent of adult loon deaths in New England resulted from poisoning from lead weights and jigs.

In 1991 the federal government placed a ban on the use of lead shot for hunting, yet much remains at the bottom of lakes and streams. Manufacturers of fishing equipment are beginning to remove lead from their products. (Lead also is deposited in bodies of water via lead-mine tailings.)

The destructive cycle continues as large birds of prey, such as the American bald eagle, suffer from secondary lead poisoning after eating contaminated fish or waterfowl.

The jury is still out on the issues involving the aquatic virus and free-fire zones. As for the ozone problem, it is not one that will go away soon. Stay tuned!

The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)