Farmers, ranchers beware; could require all dirt roads be paved – at land owners expense!
EPA dust regs could threaten much more than barbecues
By Karen McMahan
October 12, 2010
RALEIGH — Until recently, no one in North Carolina, home to so many tobacco companies, could have imagined a statewide smoking ban in public buildings.
And yet it’s possible that federal environmental regulators could target another signature Tar Heel State tradition: the pig pickin’.
Several cities in California, Colorado, and other states have banned outdoor grilling — particularly where wood or charcoal is involved — at parks and other public areas and at events including weekend festivals. And if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tightens its regulations covering coarse particulate matter in 2011, mobile smokers could be endangered.
Outdoor barbecues would not be the main target of the new federal regulations. Instead, the rules seek to limit farm and rural dust, placing the nation’s farmers, ranchers, livestock producers, and miners on notice. Some activists are even suggesting all unpaved roads be paved as a way to curb dust creation.
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