Children's Health Defense The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that state environmental regulators can require operators of industrial dairies, poultry and hog feeding operations to improve their handling of billions of pounds of manure that pollutes state waterways.
By Keith Schneider
In a rare rebuke to the industrial farm sector, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled on July 31 that state environmental regulators have full authority to require livestock and poultry operations to improve their handling of billions of pounds of manure that contributes to the contamination of waterways.
The 5-2 decision issued is one of the most significant environmental protection measures in Michigan in years. It comes after four years of battles between state officials and operators of poultry and hog feeding operations and large dairies over regulatory efforts to reduce agriculture-related water pollution.
Farm-related nitrates and phosphorus have fouled Lake Erie and other state waters for decades.
The court’s decision recognizes that the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) not only has the power but also has the obligation under state and federal law to issue permits aimed at cleaning up Michigan’s water and keeping it free of dangerous pollutants, said Rob Michaels, managing attorney of the Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center, one of eight environmental organizations that filed a brief in support of the state.
The ruling is a rare defeat for industrial agriculture interests, particularly the Michigan Farm Bureau, which is supported by the major state associations for milk, pork and poultry producers. The bureau did not respond to requests for comment.
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