Newsmax - Fruit Tree Farmers’ New ‘Tormentor’: The FDA

The Food and Drug Administration is proposing costly new regulations for growers of apples, pears, and other tree fruits — even though they have a virtually flawless safety record.

“For decades, America’s farmers, ranchers, and fruit growers have become grudgingly accustomed to dealing with onerous regulatory schemes emanating from the Environmental Protection Agency,” according to the CFACT (Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow) website.

“But now the people who grow apples, pears, and other tree fruits have a new tormentor: the Food and Drug Administration,” which is backing standards “that many growers are convinced will put them out of business.”

The new regulations emerge from the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, passed by Congress and the Obama administration, which directed the FDA to prevent foodborne illnesses rather than simply react to outbreaks.

This year the FDA designated which items of produce would be included in the new regulations. Those usually consumed raw (including apples, blueberries, bananas, pears, and peaches) would have to abide by the new regulations, and those that are usually cooked or processed (sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, pumpkins, artichokes, winter squash, etc.) would be exempt, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Growers subject to the new regulations would face an array of new responsibilities, including regular testing of irrigation water, sanitizing canvas fruit-picking bags, and keeping animals away from crops, The Journal explained.

Tree fruit farmers argue that the FDA should focus more on items that have caused deadly outbreaks in the past, such as spinach, instead of items that have never posed a health threat.

An apple farmer in Virginia told The Journal that the compliance costs “would end up getting passed on to the consumer, if we didn’t go out of business first.”

The FDA has said the new requirements would cost American farms about $460 million a year.

Also, some farmers fear that foreign products will not be subject to the same regulations, and foreign competition will drive American farmers out of business.

Farms with average yearly sales of $25,000 or less, and certain other farms that average less than $500,000 in annual sales and sell mostly to consumers within a 275-mile radius, would be exempt from the new requirements, the FDA says.

CFACT reports: “Hoping to avoid the mass shutdown of fruit-tree operations, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Fresh Produce Association are urging the FDA to redraft its proposed regulations.”

Coming soon to your backyard...the EPA?

Well, many of us thought we’d never see this day, but it appears Congress is finally trying to rein in the overreaching Obama EPA, which has acted like a governing body unto itself since Obama’s occupation of the White House.  With the upcoming Senate vote that could put a halt to the EPA’s Utility MACT rule, and now a bipartisan effort in the House to block another ridiculous rule that would regulate puddles in your backyard, it seems the Agency’s runaway rulemaking may be in jeopardy.

But first, let’s look at exactly how absurd the EPA’s reinterpretation of the Clean Water Act really is. 

From Human Events:

http://www.humanevents.com/2012/06/11/epa-power-grab-to-regulate-ditches-gullies-on-private-property/

EPA power grab to regulate ditches, gullies on private property

By: Audrey Hudson

 

Lawmakers are working to block an unprecedented power grab by the Environmental Protection Agency to use the Clean Water Act (CWA) and control land alongside ditches, gullies and other ephemeral spots by claiming the sources are part of navigable waterways.

These temporary water sources are often created by rain or snowmelt, and would make it harder for private property owners to build in their own backyards, grow crops, raise livestock and conduct other activities on their own land, lawmakers say.

So essentially, if there is heavy rain in your area one day, EPA regulators could be paying you a visit the next.  But this one was seemingly so over-the-top that even Congress is calling the EPA’s bluff:

 “Never in the history of the CWA has federal regulation defined ditches and other upland features as ‘waters of the United States,’” said Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), the ranking committee member, and Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

“This is without a doubt an expansion of federal jurisdiction,” the lawmakers said in a May 31 letter to House colleagues. […]

To read the full article click on link(s) above.

War on Coal Update: Court Halts EPA Overreach

As we look to the Supreme Court to hand down a ruling on the constitutionality of Obamacare this week, here's an example of a different federal judge doing her part to halt the Obama administration's regulatory onslaught.

The background: The Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for a coal mining company to build a facility in West Virginia, a state hit hard by the recession and extremely reliant on the mining industry for jobs and revenue.  Then, in January, 2011 the Obama EPA swooped in and revoked the Army Corps' permit, citing environmental concerns (which were taken into account in the Army Corps' permitting process).  

Now, in March, 2012 - over a year after the project was stalled by the EPA - it turns out the agency never had the authority to revoke the Army Corps' permit in the first place.  A year of jobs and private-sector investment put on hold thanks to the EPA's regulatory overreach.

Check out the AP story below...

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http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/871679e8bc8a408f819af5e5db69e195/WV--Mountaintop-Mining/

Federal judge: EPA overstepped authority revoking permits for Arch Coal surface mine in W.Va.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A federal judge says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority in revoking permits for what could now become West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal mine.  

In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of St. Louis-based Arch.   She declares a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water pollution permit for the Spruce No. 1 mine in Logan County is "valid and in full force."  

Arch spokeswoman Kim Link says the company is pleased with the decision.  

The EPA vetoed the corps' permit for the mine in January 2011, saying it would cause irreparable damage to the environment.  

The move enraged both the coal industry and West Virginia politicians, several of whom have since introduced bills to try rein in the EPA.

NH House Leaders Call on Vice President Biden to Use NH Model to Create Jobs, Not More Government

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) today offered the following statement in response to news that Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Rochester, New Hampshire on Thursday to discuss job creation.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“The Vice President should note that New Hampshire is shrinking our unemployment rate and growing our workforce the right way – without government bailouts or taxpayer funded stimulus programs.  Instead, we brought spending under control and reduced a historic deficit without raising a single tax or fee.  In fact, we cut or eliminated 12 taxes or fees and passed 43 new laws that reduced regulations.  Now, our economy is thriving as our employers are gaining the confidence to add new jobs.  The Vice President should leave his big government solutions in Washington and learn how we can get the economy moving again when we lift the burden of the state from the back of those who actually create jobs.”

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt

“The Democrats were in the process of destroying the New Hampshire Advantage with higher taxes, fees and regulations when we took over in 2010.  Now, we have more people working across the state than since the recession started.  Republican leadership has meant more jobs here in the Granite State, while Vice President Biden’s agenda of passing stimulus plans and attempting to take over health care did nothing but give us a huge budget hangover.  We are not buying any more of the Obama Administration snake oil that won’t help our economy and hasn’t gotten Americans back to work.  That’s why New Hampshire will be joining with the nation to elect a Republican president in November.”

BACKGROUND: New Hampshire’s economic recovery is in full force.  According to the federal Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Hampshire’s workforce is now the largest ever recorded.  In December, the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.1%, the fourth lowest nationally.  In 2011, the Republican Majority passed a budget that reduced state general fund spending by 18% and overall spending by 11%, while providing tax reduction for businesses.

NHGOP Response to What Voters Hope is Obama's Last SOTU Address

"Tonight, New Hampshire voters heard another lofty speech filled with promises to boost job creation and rebuild our economy, but this is the same empty rhetoric they've heard year after year.  President Obama simply doesn't realize that his commitment falls short because his so-called 'accomplishments' are the problem.  ObamaCare, reckless spending and job-destroying regulations are hurting small business owners and drowning out the free market with more government.

"Despite these promises, the unfortunate reality is that the national unemployment rate is significantly higher today than it was when he took office.  Too many New Hampshire workers either can't find a job or are under-employed.  

"As we look ahead to 2012, the President's broken promises on the economy and his record of more spending, more debt and more taxes will prove to be a liability for Democrats running for office across our state."

OBAMA'S PROMISE AFTER PROMISE AFTER PROMISE

2009: "It's an agenda that begins with jobs." (President Barack Obama, White House Press Office, 2/24/2009, Accessed: 1/24/2012)

2010: "That is why jobs must be our number-one focus in 2010." (President Barack Obama, White House Press Office, 1/27/2010, Accessed: 1/24/2012)

2011: "All these investments. . . . will make America a better place to do business and create jobs." (President Barack Obama, White House Press Office, 1/25/2011, Accessed: 1/24/2012)