Last night KVEW-TV’s reporter Galen Ettlin ran a story focusing on the Department of Ecology’s proposed new rules impacting Washington’s dairy industry. The issue is complicated, and some of those quoted in the story made claims that are unscientific and some that are simply false.

The report did a nice job of putting Friends of Toppenish Creek, who are pushing for more regulation, on record with claims that are demonstrably false. In environmental policy, it can be difficult to pin people down to particular claims. Often groups prefer to insinuate problems rather than make actual claims. Ettlin, however, did a nice job of getting Friends of Toppenish Creek to make clear claims that can be easily disproven.

Here are just three of their claims that are clearly inaccurate:

1. “In actuality, the Dairy Nutrient Management Program has no ability to enforce the laws to prevent people from polluting. What they can do is require dairies to have a dairy nutrient management plan,” says Mendoza [of Friends of Toppenish Creek]. “So a plan says on paper, we will do this, and this, and this. There is absolutely no requirement for the dairies to actually follow through with what they say they will do.”

This is obviously false. Washington state’s Dairy Nutrient Management Act (DNMA) requires that that all Grade A milk producers have an approved and certified Nutrient Management Plan (NMP). Dairies are then held accountable to the guidelines set forth in their NMP by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA).

The NMP’s objectives are to prevent discharge and contamination of the underlying aquifer, to apply nutrients at an agronomic rate, and to ensure the plan meets all federal and state water quality laws and standards. If these objectives are not attained, enforcement is required by law. Inspection occurs every 18 to 22 months and inspects all elements of every dairies plan.

Enforcement under DNMA is both informal and formal depending on the nature of the violation. Currently 95% of enforcement needs are resolved through informal methods such as a warning letter and notice of correction. The small percentage needing a formal enforcement receive a civil penalty which includes fines, a halt to the practice in violation, and adoption of additional management practices.

2.  “A thousand cows would come pretty close to the same amount of ammonia that was emitted on the interstate and closed down the interstate,” explains Mendoza. “And this happens every day in the lower Yakima Valley, where there are approximately 110,000 milk cows.”

Mahatma Gandhi said, “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” The same can be applied to air quality – ammonia is produced by dairies but the concentration is low and dairies have effectively reduced the concentration and the cows in the Yakima Valley are dispersed over a huge region.

In the ammonia pollution event that occurred August 3, 2016 on I-90 outside of Cle Elum approximately 1,750 gallons of anhydrous ammonia was spilled. This is the equivalent of the ammonia emissions of over 12,700 dairy cows in an entire day. It is true, that if you could stack 12,700 cows in an area the size of a truck for an entire day, it would be the same. Unlike the happenings on a dairy this accident on I-90 occurred in one small location, at one moment, with no containment technology which is different from a dairy operation.

Washington dairies are usually open lots that experience changes in wind, temperature, humidity, etc. Weather fluctuations in addition to multiple practices designed to minimize emissions reduces the concentration of ammonia and protects the environment. Dairies take a number of steps to reduce ammonia emissions, and cows’ daily diet is designed to minimize the amount of ammonia the cows produce. After all, the farmers themselves are closest to the issue and even though the ammonia is dispersed, they want to reduce the amount just for their own personal comfort.

3. “Kathleen Rogers says she has received support from the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency, and hopes to have air sensors put in that can detect chemicals in and around her neighborhood.”

While we certainly understand that living near farms – just like living in cities – has its issues, Rogers does say that “she has seen practices improve.” She also acknowledges that chemicals have yet to be detected and that they have not yet put up sensors.

In fact, the air quality around farms is quite good. In early 2016, when asked about ammonia, Clean Air Director Gary Pruitt said, “We had no issues whatsoever with 80 to 90 percent of the Valley dairy operations where we scheduled site visits, reviewed the (best-management practices) checklist and discussed how best to proceed at each farm.”

When addressing environmental issues, a look at the facts and science illustrate the serious efforts made by dairy farmers to improve their practices to become better environmental stewards, protecting water and air quality.

“Local dairy farmers are making multimillion-dollar investments to improve production efficiency and to meet or often exceed environmental benchmarks for water and air quality. We want to do the best job possible in balancing good stewardship with sound business practices,” says Genny DeRuyter of Washington State Dairy Commission.

Ironically, many of the rules dairies are accused of ignoring were, in fact, supported by the dairy industry. The dairies advocated for increases in regulatory oversight. Ginny Prest, the Dairy Nutrient Management Plan Coordinator from the State Department of Agriculture notes, “In 2009 dairy producers lobbied for the addition of agronomic application rates to the Dairy Nutrient Management Act requiring farmers to monitor these rates. Then in 2010 they pushed for a civil penalty that would be included with agronomic rates when they were in violation of the Act and they were able to achieve this additional regulatory enforcement.”

Concerns for clean air and water are of the utmost concern for all residents of Washington state. However, understanding the reality of the situation and correctly and authentically addressing the issue allows all Washingtonians the chance to create their own opinion without being swayed by an emotional and unscientific tale.