Roseacre Farms Complaint Filed With EPA Over Wildfire
Rose Acre Farms has tried to limit its exposure to the ever-dangerous ammonia air pollution that contributes to thousands of deaths every year in the United States. In an effort to appease the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources has tried to apply the same old feather and dust tactics to force Rose Acre Farms into extraordinary action to limit ammonia emissions from its massive North Carolina layer houses. At the very least such measures would keep North Carolina’s precious drinking water source from further contamination by reducing the chances of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) escaping into the air. At worst such measures could be an invitation to larger environmental disaster, especially if the VOCs continue to migrate from the affected regions.
Rose Acre Farms Lawsuit
On April 10th, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Rose Acre Farms, LLC ordering the said company to begin sealing its massive barns and factories off from the public. EPA stated that the blanket ban was in order to “reduce the risk of significant damage or injury to the environment.” It is unclear what EPA meant by” Significant damage or injury,” however, as the amount of damage caused by the excess moisture and toxic fumes emitted by Rose Acre Farms’ layer houses, barns, and factories is well beyond that which can be “relatively easily mitigated,” according to the owners themselves. In short, EPA was effectively telling Rose Acre Farms that they need to build better barns, or else. Such a drastic measure is obviously not necessary, especially when the problem is so easily remedied.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has also weighed in with his own lawsuit against Rose Acre Farms stating that the clean coal technology being used by the company causes “unacceptable” harm to the state’s air quality.
As a result, Cooper is urging the courts to force Rose Acre Farms into compliance with North Carolina’s existing clean coal law. If no settlement is reached between the parties, Cooper will file a lawsuit against the company, asking a judge to force Rose Acre Farms into compliance with North Carolina’s clean coal law. Similar lawsuits have been filed by attorneys general in Maryland and Kentucky.
As if that weren’t enough, attorneys general in both New York and Maryland are also involved in the lawsuit against Rose Acre Farms.
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is seeking an injunction against the company, while Maryland Attorney General Douglas G. Schapiro is expected to file a similar lawsuit soon. Schapiro has also sent a letter to the EPA warning that unless the agency takes steps to correct the problems with their clean coal technology, he will file a lawsuit against the company. Schapiro also noted that the lawsuits are likely to target other companies that currently use clean coal technology as well.
Although the Clean Coal Technology is one of the reasons that brought about the lawsuit against Roseacre Farms, the owners themselves say that it was the emissions from the power plant that caused all the problems.
According to the owners, the emissions exceeded EPA standards, which led to damage to the community, and then to the lawsuit. It is believed that the owners were unaware that they could not emit as much carbon into the atmosphere as they could when using the clean coal technology. They believe that the EPA over-regulated the power plant, and that the courts will uphold the power plant in their decisions.
The owners of Roseacre Farms are planning to fight back with a number of lawsuits, claiming that the government has over-regulated the power plant, and that the courts will uphold the EPA’s regulations. They say that this lawsuit is just the first step towards resolving the issue, and that they are prepared to fight the case to the very end. “This lawsuit is not about one or two issues. We want to see the EPA rule on every single one of the issues as they have done with our neighbors,” said Ron Lodge, one of the co-owners.
The owners of Roseacre Farms feel that the lawsuit is unnecessary because they feel that the EPA was not adequately involved in the process of investigating and determining whether the power plant was operating within the parameters set by the Clean Air Act.
“The fact that the EPA did not participate in this process speaks to their inattention to the original Clean Air Act regulations,” said Lodge. The EPA has also threatened to sue several other companies, including Range Resources, for not following the required guidelines. Ron Lodge feels that the lawsuits will only increase the tension between farmers and ranchers and further restrict their right to produce their product. “People that live off the land, we need to be able to consume our own natural product if we want to remain healthy,” he said.
One of the owners, Richard Rose, feels that the lawsuit is frivolous, and that the plaintiffs lack sufficient evidence to support their claims. “I think that the lawsuit is just another ploy by these companies to gain more power over rural America,” he said. “There is no truth to the allegations, and I think the lawsuit is nothing more than a media stunt to gain media attention.” Roseacre Farms has received grants from the EPA, and Mr. Rose feels that the lawsuit is “a huge waste of taxpayer money.”
