nitrates

Earlier this week, family farmers were in Salem voicing their opposition to Senate Bill 747.  The legislation, sponsored by Portland Senator Khanh Pham, would require farms 200 acres and larger to report their annual fertilizer use to the state Department of Agriculture.  The leg...

A recent decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold an EPA’s preliminary injunction against a group of Yakima Valley dairies means those dairies must continue to test for nitrate contamination.  That recent ruling follows an appeal by the dairy farms against a previous court order mandating the expanded tests.   Larry ...

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Spokane ordered a trio of central Washington dairies to provide water filters for nearby residents as well as test area wells for nitrate contamination.  Judge Thomas Rice issued the preliminary injunction December 17th at the request of the EPA against Cow Palace, DeRuyter and Liberty dairies in Yakima County.  Accordi...

Oregon has fined the Port of Morrow, in the NE corner of the state, $1.3 million for repeatedly over-applying agricultural wastewater on nearby farms in an area that already has elevated levels of groundwater nitrates. The state Department of Environmental Quality made the announcement last week ...

The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday it had received a Confined Animal Feeding Operation, or CAFO, application from Cole Easterday, on July 22nd. This new application came about a week after Cole’s father, Cody Easterday withdrew his CAFO application for the same site, at the request of ODA. The ...

After last months’ ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, denying an EPA motion to dismiss the case, the Washington state Dairy Federation and EPA are bound for federal court over a 2012-13 study regarding groundwater contamination in the lower Yakima Valley. The ...

The voices calling for the EPA to pull its 2012 Yakima Valley Nitrate study and conduct a peer review continues to grow.  Joining producers, farmers and lawmakers is Eastern Washington Family Farmers.   EWFF Executive Director Gerald Baron says the study, which was launched in response to a local newspaper article, aimed at proving dairies in the Yakima Valley were responsible for elevated nitrate

The voices calling for the EPA to pull its 2012 Yakima Valley Nitrate study and conduct a peer review continues to grow.  Joining producers, farmers and lawmakers is Eastern Washington Family Farmers.   EWFF Executive Director Gerald Baron says the study, which was launched in response to a local newspaper article, aimed at proving dairies in the Yakima Valley were responsible for elevated nitrate

A study from the United Kingdom claims farm fertilizers are polluting the rocks beneath our feet, and may lead to severe global consequences.  Researchers at the British Geological Survey claim nitrates from fertilizers could have severe global-scale consequences for rivers, water supplies, human health and the economy.  Researc...

The Environmental Working Group says rural water systems have high levels of nitrates.  A new report and database released by EWG this week found that the 30 utilities with the distinction of the highest nitrate contamination in tests between 2010 and 2015 all exceeded the legal limit.  An...