Tester statement on EPA’s ‘farm dust’ decision

(U.S. SENATE)  — Senator Jon Tester, a third-generation farmer, today released the following statement in response to the decision from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to increase regulations on particulate matter, which can include “farm dust”:

“I’m pleased the administration heeded my call to back off of increasing regulation on farm dust so that farmers can keep doing their jobs. My equipment kicks up dust almost every time I’m in the fields. But I also know that while I’m working my fields, I’m contributing to Montana’s top industry and growing food that feeds this country. The EPA has to recognize the unique role family farm agriculture plays in this country.”

In February, Tester joined a bipartisan group of Senators in calling on the EPA not to regulate farm dust, saying “naturally occurring dust is a fact of life in rural America and the creation of dust is unavoidable in the agriculture industry.”

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