McMorris Rodgers introduces bipartisan bill to give legal certainty to farmers

Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) on Friday would provide regulatory certainty regarding the nutrient management requirements of farmers.

McMorris Rodgers introduced the Farm Regulatory Certainty Act, H.R. 848, to reaffirm and clarify that the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was intended to govern the safe disposal of waste in sanitary landfills, and it was never Congress’ intent for the law to regulate agricultural nutrient management activities.

The legislation addresses a 2015 federal court ruling that nitrates — a byproduct of manure and fertilizers — meet the definition of solid waste under the RCRA of 1976, and that elevated nitrate levels in groundwater constituted “open dumping” by dairy farmers in Washington State.

“The Farm Regulatory Certainty Act will help provide much-needed legal clarity and certainty for our farmers and for the state and federal agencies who enforce these regulations,” McMorris Rodgers said. “I’m committed to creating a collaborative culture, where our farmers can, in good faith, work with state and federal agencies to comply with regulations and reduce their environmental footprint.”

H.R. 848 would also codify original RCRA regulations that were adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, which included exemptions for agricultural byproducts returned to the soil as nutrients.

Additionally, the measure would prevent farmers already engaged in legal action and those already working with state and federal officials to address nutrient management issues from being targeted by citizen suits.

McMorris Rodgers was joined by U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) in introducing H.R. 848. The bill has more than two dozen bipartisan original cosponsors.