EPA Accountability to Farm Country Act
If enacted, HB 7900 would require the Secretary of Agriculture to convene a review panel within 30 days whenever a covered publication is deemed to have a major economic impact. This review panel would consist of representatives from the Department of Agriculture, the EPA, and a selection of agricultural producers. Importantly, any regulatory actions resulting from such publications that would significantly affect agricultural entities would not be finalized until the recommendations from the review panel have been implemented. This is intended to ensure a careful evaluation of regulations before they are applied, potentially protecting farmers from adverse impacts.
House Bill 7900, titled the 'EPA Accountability to Farm Country Act,' aims to establish a regulatory review process for rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The bill requires that the Secretary of Agriculture reviews any publication from the EPA that may have a significant economic impact on agriculture. This includes determining if proposed regulations will affect the production or prices of agricultural commodities or retail food prices, thereby impacting the agricultural economy overall.
The bill encapsulates a broader debate about the balance between federal environmental regulation and agricultural interests. Proponents argue that farmers often bear the brunt of overly stringent regulations that may be economically detrimental. They claim that a dedicated review process will ensure that regulations are crafted with agricultural realities in mind. Critics, however, may argue that the bill could slow down essential environmental protections, allowing industries to sidestep necessary regulations under the pretext of economic impacts, which could lead to negative consequences for environmental sustainability.