Moral hazard drives ag pollution in South Dakota

Today's intersection brings the receipts on how socialized agriculture enables the decimation of my home county and its primary waterway, the Big Sioux River. Because of the failures of South Dakota's Republican governors and legislature to control pollution some $172 million has been set aside for pipelines and drinking water improvements including in this interested party’s home town of Elkton where dairies, chicken farms and nitrates have ruined wells.

The problem is “total suspended solids,” including soil that washes into the river. Roughly 73% of that soil comes from farms. Marisa Lubeck, a spokesperson with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 Office (which includes South Dakota), sent a statement explaining states and local governments are responsible for ensuring plans are followed. [New report identifies pollution reductions needed to clean up segment of Big Sioux River]

So today, agriculture is the leading source of pollution in the waters of the United States and the latest round of flooding in farm country has just made it worse. Moral hazard is the flip side of self-reliance and the heavily subsidized industry knows emergency declarations will provide bailouts for those who choose risk because Republican welfare farmers are the real ecoterrorists who hate subsidies unless they benefit from them.

It is likely that a significant number of corn and soybean producers in many areas of the upper Midwest may qualify for crop insurance indemnity payments in 2024. With federal crop insurance, every year is different, and with the multiple options available to producers, there are many variable results from crop insurance coverage at harvest time. [2024 crop insurance payments likely in the upper Midwest]

In red states like South Dakota freedom equals the right to pollute. Kristi Noem's cuckolded husband is an insurance peddler and so is her fellow Earth hater, Mike Rounds. Senator John Thune (Earth hater-SD) is already notorious for encouraging moral hazard and adding layers of government overreach to the farm bill. Yes, the US Environmental Protection Agency and US Fish and Wildlife Service are within the Executive Branch and as Commander in Chief the president could simply order the Army Corps of Engineers and all to stand down. 

But, more than even the defense lobby lavishes on politicians the US Chamber of Commerce, Bayer, American Crystal Sugar, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Koch cabal flood Republicans in congress with cash according to research compiled by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Courtney Briggs, a senior director of government affairs with AFBF and chair of the Waters Advocacy Coalition -- a collection of industry groups -- said agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are largely trying to ignore the 2023 Supreme Court case, Sackett v. EPA. [WOTUS Rules Remain Muddy]