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Appeal Filed in Alt vs. EPA
The Environmental Protection
Agency and several environmental
intervenors filed an appeal in the
Lois Alt lawsuit on December 20.
The case will now go to the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fourth
Circuit in Richmond, VA.
Judge John Preston Bailey of
the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of West Virginia
ruled in favor of Lois and Tony Alt’s
contention that ordinary stormwater
from Alt’s farmyard is exempt from
federal Clean Water Act permit
requirements. That decision was
handed down in late October.
Alt sued the EPA in June 2012
after she was threatened with fines
of $37,500 each time stormwater
came into contact with dust, feathers
or small amounts of manure on
the ground outside of her poultry
houses as a result of normal farm
operations. EPA also threatened
her with separate fines of $37,500
per day if she fdid not apply for a
NPDES permit for such stormwater
discharges.
West Virginia Farm Bureau
2 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
and the American Farm Bureau
Federation intervened alongside Alt
as co-plaintiffs to help resolve the
issue for the benefit of other poultry
and livestock farmers.
No date has been scheduled for
the hearing as of press time. For
more background information on
the case, see the WVFB website
at www.wvfarm.org., where a
video and several press releases are
available.
Food Check-Out Dates
Set for February
Food Check-Out observances
illustrate the safe, abundant,
inexpensive supply of food that
Americans enjoy, but they also
do more - helping feed families
with sick children who stay at
Ronald McDonald Houses in West
Virginia. This year, the Food
Check-Out dates are: Huntington,
February 20; Charleston, February
21; Morgantown, February 22.
Contact Bill Aiken at the WVFB
office at 304-472-2080 if you’d
like to get involved with this
special project.
Meet and Greet
Legislators and
Sample Great West
Virginia-grown
Food All in One Day
It will soon be time once again
for the WVFB Day at the Legislature
and Taste of West Virginia Reception!
This year’s event is scheduled for
Tuesday, February 11th.
The day begins with a visit to
the state capitol, starting at 10 a.m.,
where members can meet with
lawmakers and discuss issues of
importance during the legislative
session. At 1 pm, all WVFB
members are urged to meet at “the
well” for a group photo.
At 6 pm, enjoy the best West
Virginia has to offer at the Taste of
West Virginia Legislative Reception.
Note that this year’s location is the
Charleston Marriott Town Center.
Hope to see you there!
Articles for NewsBytes must be submitted
by the 15th of the month prior to publication.
Time-sensitive announcements must be submitted
no less than 8 weeks prior to the date of the event.
Electronic submissions, including photos, are
preferred. Send to [email protected].