EPA Claims Regulatory Authority over Spilled Milk
By AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16676)
Boston, Massachusetts
February 2, 2011 6:36pm CST
Wasn't it just recently that Obama said he was going to look at getting rid of senseless regulations that only harmed business and slowed economic recovery? Well, here's one I think he should look at carefully.
We know the EPA has regulatory authority over oil spills. But stretching this a bit is the EPA's definition of milk as an oil.
The EPA regulations state that “milk typically contains a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil. Thus, containers storing milk are subject to the Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Program rule when they meet the applicability criteria.”
The EPA has decided that, since milk contains oil, it has the authority to force farmers to comply with new regulations to file "emergency management" plans to show how they will cope with spilled milk, how farmers will train "first responders" and build "containment facilities" if there is a flood of spilled milk.
Behind the "udder" insanity of this lurks the possibility that a lot of small dairy farmers will not be able to survive the increased costs that these regulations will add to their business overhead.
The other worry is the myriad of possible extensions of EPA regulatory control if the word "oil" is all it takes to bring the long arm of the EPA into a situation or business.
3 people like this
6 responses
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
3 Feb 11
Knew the EPA was a complete joke when they pasted CO2 as a "dangerous" gas. This just is on the ridiculous side. Milk contains no hazardous materials. Someone is on a serious power trip over there.
1 person likes this
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
3 Feb 11
Okay, well it might be hazardous if a person who was allergic to it actually drank it, they might get gas bombs. I suppose that would be a hazardous side effect since they are releasing massive amounts of CO2 into the air. But I don't think anyone is going to slurp milk off of the ground. Although, I suppose it could potentially drown a few plants.
1 person likes this

@xfahctor (14113)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
3 Feb 11
This apparently happened back in June or July, under the radar. There was also a bill introduced to counter it but I never did hear any more about it. I even tried looking around online before I responded but all I could find seemed to reference the same 3 or 4 articles, none of which gave a bill name or number for the bill introduced to stop this silliness.
It is though a shining example of governance of the absurd.
1 person likes this


@laglen (19759)
• United States
3 Feb 11
Well obviously the best way to deal with spilled milk is to cry. And every time I hear what a bang up job the EPA is doing, this is what I want to do.
I think Sierras has the right idea, all of the lactose intolerant people that are forever being caught in milk floods.
I think Sierras has the right idea, all of the lactose intolerant people that are forever being caught in milk floods. 1 person likes this

@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
3 Feb 11
Doesn't it seem that every government agency is going above, beyond and way way too far out with the long arm of regulatory power? Homeland Security is busy stopping websites that stream the Super Bowl illegally and the EPA is passing eco-lacto regulations, I mean,what's next?
1 person likes this

@Adoniah (7512)
• United States
3 Feb 11
This came about because the milk producing industry did not fit under the s510 regulatory bill. S510 will successfully put all small farmers out of business within the next year or two and leave Home Land Security, Monsanto, and the World Trade Center in charge of all Farming in the US. Now the same will be true of the Milk industry except EPA will be added to the mix. This will increase the cost of food production in the US to the point that the poor will reach starvation levels much like that in the third world countries.
Go online and read....
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
3 Feb 11
So another senseless standard that will make milk prices shoot through the roof. I'm already paying $5 per gallon. I cannot wait until it's $10! WOOT!
Anything we can do to protect the environment, after all.
And when are these price hikes going to be accepted as inflation anyway? I'm a little sick of them tossing everything that rises off the list so they can look us in the eye and say that inflation isn't a concern.
But that's another topic...
And when are these price hikes going to be accepted as inflation anyway? I'm a little sick of them tossing everything that rises off the list so they can look us in the eye and say that inflation isn't a concern.
But that's another topic...
1 person likes this
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
3 Feb 11
You really can't blame people who hold to conspiracy theories about the president and the federal government. In a scenario where the government is really trying to get the economy going again, most of their policies and regulations make no sense. The average person with no training in economics at all can recognize the impact of these regulations on businesses and consumers. Why can't the government see it? No wonder so many conclude that they do it on purpose.
And as for inflation, this won't count. When the small, local producers go out of business and everything has to be trucked in,the prices will shoot up with the added energy costs. Then they'll have to add a global warming tax.
@millertime (1394)
• United States
5 Feb 11
When I first saw this discussion, I figured it had to be a joke. I mean, how could something so patently absurd possibly be true? I had to do a search and actually pull up a news article to read it and I still had a hard time believing it.
This is a prime example of government run amok. When government agencies are created, they try to expand their sphere of influence and control wherever and however they can. They don't care of the consequences of their actions. They don't care who they adversely affect or that they are trampling civil rights. All they care about is expanding their kingdom, their control, their power.
It seems pretty clear to me that someone over at the EPA, or maybe several people, are just flat out of their minds. They are insane. Their reasoning in why they can seize authority over spilled milk is far beyond the stretch of any sane person's imagination. They should be committed to the nearest lunatic asylum.
This type of tyrannical government power grab makes my blood boil and I'm going to write my congressmen and senators about it. I invite everyone to do the same. This kind of thing simply cannot be tolerated by a free people. Our government is overstepping it's authority in too many ways every day. We need to start putting our foot down before it's too late. 





@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
5 Feb 11
These days, absurd and impossible are the key elements of any true story regarding our government. Regulation is how you control the "Homer Simpson" in all of us, according to regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein.
I wish they were crazy. They are simply very calculating.
One day we will wake up in a country we don't even recognize.





