Articles

 Congressman Steve Daines announced today that he has helped introduce legislation that will provide Montana farmers and ranchers with relief from costly and burdensome Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel storage regulations.

Daines serves as an original co-sponsor of the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship (FUELS) Act, which eases the EPA’s Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules for small farmers and ranchers by modifying the exemption level to be more reflective of a producer’s spill risk and financial resources.

“Montana’s farmers and ranchers need relief from Washington’s out-of-touch regulations that fail to take into account the reality of working in agriculture,” Daines stated. “The FUELS Act takes an important step to provide our ag producers with the flexibility they need and removes the uncertainty of yet another costly, one-size-fits-none rule from Washington, D.C. I am committed to being an advocate for Montana’s farmers and ranchers and will continue working to reduce the burden that Washington’s regulatory overreach brings.”

The FUELS Act has also received strong support from the Montana Grain Growers Association.

“MGGA would like to thank Congressman Daines for this common sense legislation,” stated Ryan McCormick, president of the Montana Grain Growers Association. “The FUELS Act is befitting of the reality of current agricultural operations and will undo burdensome regulations and oversight by the federal government.  This is a great start for pro-agriculture legislation from Congressman Daines. We look forward to working with him and are sure we can expect more common sense legislation from him in the future.”

The current SPCC rule requires producers to construct a containment facility, like a dike or a basin, around above-ground fuel tanks, which must retain 110 percent of the maximum stored fuel capacity.   The EPA has determined that any above-ground fuel storage facility exceeding 1,320 gallons must comply, which would apply to most farmers and ranchers across the country, including smaller-scale producers who may not be able to afford it.

The FUELS Act would modify the exemption level for a single above-ground container to 10,000 gallons while the aggregate level on a production facility would move to 42,000 gallons. The FUELS Act also provides farmers or ranchers with a greater ability to self-certify compliance, instead of having to procure the services of certified Professional Engineers (PEs).