SR-158, As Adopted by Senate, June 16, 2010

            Senators Kuipers, Allen, Cropsey, Van Woerkom, Jelinek, George, Hardiman, Kahn, Brown and Gilbert offered the following resolution:

            Senate Resolution No. 158.

            A resolution to urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rescind rules that would require dairy farms to have oil spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks.

            Whereas, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified milk as an oil subject to federal regulation. The EPA will soon be requiring small and large dairy farms to prepare and implement oil spill prevention plans for potential spills from milk bulk tanks; and

            Whereas, The EPA has stretched common sense in subjecting farmers to laws clearly never intended to apply to milk. The federal Clean Water Act requirements to prevent oil spills were obviously directed at petroleum-based oils, not milk. EPA's actions represent a clear overreach and an example of misplaced priorities that will apply more unnecessary government regulation to our nation's farmers while more serious problems are not addressed; and

            Whereas, The preparation and implementation of an oil spill, prevention, control, and countermeasure plan will cost thousands of dairy farmers time and money with little discernible environmental benefit. The EPA has created an onerous solution searching for a problem; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate, That we urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rescind rules that would require dairy farms to have oil spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.