AIQ-Lancaster Farming, Saturday. May 27, 2000
OPINION
Landowners, Farmers, Foresters:
Be Wary Of EPA Proposal
The recent record growth in the economy of the United States
could come to a crashing half if an Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) proposal that would more stringently monitor
water systems is allowed to go into effect.
The federal agency is seeking to aggressively enforce a portion
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act that would severely
hamper agriculture and silviculture (forestry), and place an
undue financial burden on many private property owners.
There are numerous reasons why the Pennsylvania State
Grange, an agricultural, rural and community service organiza
tion with over 25,000 members across the state, is adamantly op- . Look ,
posed to this initiative. Wire Spacing
As part of the Clean Water Act, which became law in 1972, For e^ect *ve animal con
such activities as farming, animal production, timber harvesting, trol > wire spacing is more im
etc., have been considered as nonpoint sources of pollution while portant than fence height, re
point sources were historically limited to industrial sites, which ports Chester Hughes,
usually contain pipe sources of discharge. Lancaster County extension
Now, EPA is attempting to reverse this process by reclassifying livestock agent,
silvicultural activities and agricultural production as point More animals g 0 through
sources. Point source are required to obtain a prescriptive Na- and under fences than over
tional Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit t h em Proner wire snarino
which can cost up to $lO,OOO. wire Spacmg
Private property could also be considered as a polat source your ,enccs nK>rc ef ’
since the reclassification included “anywhere that rain falls” ecnve ‘
Such a broad-based definition would include rooftops, driveways,' Regardless of how many
shopping centers, highways, parking areas, gardens and lawns. wires your fence has, always
For nearly 30 years the agency did not implement the provision position one wire at the
known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and for good shoulder height of the animal
reason. It is bad policy that could potentially cost landowners in to be controlled. This is the
Pennsylvania over $1 billion a year in permit and legal fees and “nose wire” that your animals
other costs. In fact, in 1990 EPA admitted such permits “would see and touch when they ap
not be productive and would be cost prohibitive”. proach the fence< other fence
Prohibitive and burdensome costs, however, aren’t the only wires should be spaced
negative aspect of the permit process. Permits could be subject to
delays or refusals. They require public comment and many times
include statements of unsubstantiated public opposition. They
expose landowners to harassment and private litigation. Even if a
permit is approved, it can be challenged by unscientifically based
environmental groups of private entities.
Obviously the cost and liabilities incurred through the permit
process will be a disincentive for landowners to maintain their
properties in an agricultural or forested state which is the exact
opposite of farmland and forest preservation efforts across the
Commonwealth. Soil conservation programs, Best Management
Practices and other environmental initiatives used by farmers and .
nmmTreSces. demonStrate wUUngneSS to preserve our Background Scripture:
The vast majority of farmers and foresters are good stewards of iVivnHmiijnMir
the land. They realize the economic gains of preserving the very
land they till or forests they harvest. When will the policy makers ZZI tz?'' T •
who are far removed from the fields and forests of our grea iiTSSI i
nation embrace this logical concept? a *? an wl " n “ 1
Finally, the Grange backs the death of this reclassification be- religious organization 6 ° *
cause it would snatch the regulatory process out of the hands of When I saw his name on the
states (currently administered most effectively by the envelope, I was surprised te-
Department of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania) and cause, doing our years of joint
drop it squarely in the lap of EPA without any input from Con- service, the man had been quite
gress. It is a scary notion and sets a dangerous precedent antagonistic toward me.
when a government agency can thumb its nose at lawmakers and The contents of the letter, how
set policy as it pleases. ever, were even more surprising,
It isn’t too late, however, for concerned citizens to voice their for he told me that in reviewing
opposition to this rule. Two public meetings are being held in the bis life he realized that he had
month of June to gather information as part of EPA’s public com- he® n unfair to me and asked for
ment period. On Thursday, June 8, a meeting is scheduled for The m y forgiveness. Whatever my
Casino at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Blair County, while a P revious estimation of him had
second meeting will be held on Thursday, June 15, at the Berks been ’ 1 now g* - ® 3 * l ? admired his
County Agricultural Center in Leesport. Both meetings, where f"? 0 ® 1 ® repentance. It is some
residents can speak out against this rule, begin at 7 p.m. “ ung 31110°.rare
!f concerned citizens are unable to attend cither of these meet- * sho * t “"® j after 1 responded
ment and implementation ofTMDLs; costs of implementing mea- The world is filled with cen
sures to comply with such loads; the availability of alternative flict and the churches have their
programs or mechanisms to reduce the discharge of pollutants share and perhaps even more,
from point sources and nonpoint source pollution to achieve Several large Protestant denomi
water quality standards, nations are facing the prospect of
If these efforts are unsuccessful, the rule could be in effect by permanent division over a host of
the end of June 2000. issues, the most prominent being
As we approach the celebration of our Independence Day in tk ® P* ac ® °f avowed homosexuals
early July, we may very well feel the erosion of our personal free- in the Kfe of the church - Unlike
doms as we ask ourselves the inescapable question “What’s th ® secular world, it appears that
next?” ’ the churches are slow to ac
lamocr knowledge and face these con
p ... B , . ’ flicts and they are sometimes cas-
Pubhc Relathms Director tigated fo / this perceived
Pennsylvania State Grange “weakness.”
K f
v r *rt^r/
BY IAWRENCE W AUHOUSt
f ®ni3a>s
sn/
HOME ON A
BROKEN WING
according to the type of ani
mal: 10-12 inches apart for
cattle and horses and 6-8
inches apart for sheep and
goats. The bottom wires
should be closer together than
the top wires.
Fences taller than 48 inches
are not really necessary. In
many countries, livestock
fences are seldom over 42
inches tall. Electric fences
maybe even lower: 36 inches
for cattle and horses and 30
inches for sheep and goats.
Shorter fences also allow
closer wire spacing.
To Ground
Electric Fences
When utilizing electric
fences, you cannot have too
many ground rods, according
to Chester Hughes, Lancaster
County extension livestock
agent. Sometimes one ground
rod will work, but three are
better.
When an animal touches
the fence, the electricity must
travel through the animal into
the soil, then through the soil
to a ground rod. The electrici
ty then travels from the
ground rod to the fence charg
er where the circuit is com
pleted. Only then does the an
imal feel the shock. Therefore,
the more ground rods, the
more electricity gets back to
the fence charger.
That is why the best ground
system consists of three galva
nized ground rods, at least six
WEAKNESS OR
STRENGTH? There is Biblical
precedence for that perception of
“weakness.” From Paul’s two let
ters to Corinth, we can piece to
gether a hazy picture of the con
flict Paul experienced there. In 2
Cor. 13 we And Paul facing a cri
sis. Some intruders have entered
the Corinthian congregation and
incited the people there to an ar
rogant attitude. These intruders
not only have attacked Paul and
his apostleship, they have arro
gantly refused all his requests to
cease and desist. Their immoral
behavior has been blatant and
defiant.
We may gather from what
Paul writes that there have been
some criticisms from Corinthian
Christians concerning his han
dling of the crisis. Paul has been
accused of weakness. Some of
the Corinthian Christians have
contrasted his lack of power with
the power of the Spirit bestowed
upon people in the Corinthian
church.
Paul obviously still hopes the
problem can be handled without
stem measures, but his letter
makes it clear that he is prepared
to act vigorously and powerfully
if they do not grasp this last
chance to repent. “I warned
those who sinned before and all
the others, and I warn them now
while absent, as I did when pres
ent on my second visit, that if I
come again I will ill not spare
them. . . ” (13:2). He is hoping
that this strong warning will lead
them to repent before he comes.
FOR BUILDING UP. Some of
Paul’s critics will probably re
ceive this letter with disappoint
ment and criticism. They don’t
want to give the intruders still
another chance. But the patience
of love which Paul describes in 1
Corinthians 13, while it appears
as “weakness,” is really the
“strength” of love.
Impatience to condemn and
punish is weakness but love re-
feet deep in the soil and
spaced 10 feet apart. For best
results, install your ground
rods where soil moisture is
constant. Always use clamps
to attach the ground wire to
the ground rod. Remember,
your electric fence is only as
good as its ground system.
To Know Child
Labor Laws
An Oregon newspaper re
cently reported that a grass
seed farmer was likely to be
fined $375,000 for multiple
state and federal child labor
law violations.
More than $50,000 of the
fine being proposed was for
farm safety violations of the
“Youth Hazardous Occupa
tional Order.” This order pro
hibits people younger than
age 16 to perform many haz
ardous jobs on the farm, in
cluding driving tractors, oper
ating machinery, working in
confined places, and several
other activities.
If you employ young people
on your farm, it would be a
good idea to familiarize your
self with this child labor law.
Agricultural Engineering Fact
Sheet E3l, available at your
Penn State Cooperative Ex
tension office, provides addi
tional details about this law.
Feather Prof.’s Footnote:
“Success is not final; failure
is not fatal; it is the courage
to continue that counts. ”
Winston Churchill
quires all the strength we have,
Paul’s is the fauthority, which
the Lord has given me for build
ing up and not for tearing down”
(13:10). Paul is aware that some
of the Corinthians are obsessed
with finding fault in Paul, but he
warns them that they had best
“Examine yourselves, to see
whether you ate holding to your
faith. Test yourselves” (13:5), If
they are looking for someone’s
weaknesses to pounce on, let
them look in a mirror and exam
ine themselves.
What the mirror demands
from us is not pride and
judgmentalism, but humility and
repentance. Lady Mary Wortlcy
Montagu wrote to her daughter,
“It is eleven years since I have
seen my face or my figure in a
glass. The last reflection I saw
was so disagreeable that I re
solved to spare myself such mor
tification in the future.” We can
not afford to let so much time
pass until we examine ourselves
and are moved, not to judge, but
to repent and “fly home on a
broken wing.”
Note: In the Steps of Paul to
Rome & Greece, an 18-day tour
conducted by Larry and Valero
Althouse, is scheduled for April,
2001. If interested, please contact
us: 4412 Shenandoah Ave, Dallas
TX 75205/e-mail: althouse
s@aol.com; fax: (214) 52109312.
I Lancaster Farming
Established 1955
Published Every Saturday
Ephrata Review Building
1 E. Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522
—by—
Lancaster Fanning, Inc.
A Sleinman Enterprise
William J. Burgos* Ganeral Manager
Everett R. Newewanger Editor
Copyright 2000 by Lancaster Farming