Illinois residents are hearing about the Clean Water Funding Fairness Act that passed the Illinois House and Senate on May 22. This bill makes factory farms, or CAFOs, pay an annual fee for their permits to discharge pollution; these permits are required by the federal Clean Water Act. Until now, factory farms were the only industrial polluters exempt from paying fees for their permits. These fees will provide the Illinois EPA with money needed for CAFO inspections and permitting, a big step towards accountability for the industry and decreasing water pollution in Illinois.
Stacy James, Water Resources Scientist, appeared on WGEM radio (Quincy, IL) to talk about the bill:
The Illinois Times (Springfield, IL) and WQAD (Henderson and Warren Counties) also covered this story. Read our posts on factory farm issues and learn more about factory farms and their potential to cause water pollution on our Factory Farm page.
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| Access pdf of this story here. | Access pdf of this story here. |
The News-Gazette also covered this story on May 23, 2012 (or pdf) and May 26, 2012 (pdf only).
See the Midwest Agricultural Law Guide (pdf) on June 19, 2012 for more coverage of this story.
Updated on July 11, 2012 with additional news coverage.
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