Page 44 - MFB State Annual Meeting 2018 -- RESOLUTIONS BOOK

Policy Discussion Schedule
Thursday Delegate Session
#76 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION & AUTHORITY
1 Pollution Prevention on Farms
2 Public scrutiny of agriculture and increased
3 regulation continues to challenge farmers to improve
4 farm management and protect the environment. We
5 urge all members to voluntarily implement pollution
6 prevention practices.
7 We support the Michigan Right to Farm Act as the
8 primary vehicle to address environmental issues on
9 farms. We encourage all farms to follow the Act and the
10 Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management
11 Practices (GAAMPs).
12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
35 Michigan Farm Bureau should continue to pursue
36 greater incentives for MAEAP participation, such as
37 additional protections from frivolous complaints. We
38 support a review of the MAEAP program, seeking new
39 and/or alternative ways of meeting requirement
40 compliance without compromising the basis of MAEAP
41 verification. We encourage the MAEAP program to make
42 information available about Michigan’s Water Pollution
43 Control Tax Exemption Form which exempts pollution
44 control structures from property tax assessments.
45 With MAEAP in law, Michigan has set a goal that by
Public Acts 1 and 2, signed by the Governor in March 2011, solidified the future of the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). We commend the Legislature and Governor for enacting legislation protecting farms that have completed the MAEAP program. The legislation offers MAEAP-verified farms protection from civil fines, a presumption of meeting obligations for watershed pollutant loading determinations, and recognition that discharges from farm fields caused by rainfall are nonpoint source pollution. Farmers who are MAEAP-verified should be considered in compliance with EPA regulations. We urge all farm operations and landowners managing forests, wetlands and habitat to enroll in the MAEAP program and complete as many recommendations as possible to help ensure the quality of our air, water and soil is preserved. The statutory protection for MAEAP-verified farms in watersheds with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) should apply to all applicable systems that address on-farm risks of introducing the pollutants listed in that watershed’s TMDL. Verification in all systems applicable to the farm should not be required in order to receive statutory protection.
Page 2 – Thursday Delegate Session