It's now official: Factory farms that generate huge amounts of harmful pollution are being let off the hook from enforcement of clean air laws provided they simply let EPA monitor them and collect data. EPA basically let industry write its own rules in a back-room deal... no surprise that the rules would be toothless. The official story goes like this (per the AP): Seeking data for future regulation, the government on Friday told factory-style farms that generate huge amounts of animal waste they can escape potentially large fines if their air pollution is monitored. The offer by the Environmental Protection Agency is intended to produce the air-quality data needed for setting air-pollution standards for thousands of animal-processing farms, particularly hog, chicken and egg operations. By signing on, the farms, increasingly run by a concentrated few companies, pay $2,500 into an EPA fund and agree to let EPA-approved contractors monitor the air. The fund would pay for two years of air monitoring at 28 to 30 farms nationwide at a cost of up to $500,000 each. Here's a different take, from the Sierra Club: The deal signed today by the Bush administration lets the meat industry off-the-hook for air pollution and reporting toxic releases from factory farms. Rural families have been suffering from this pollution for years, and now they will have to wait at least until 2011 for relief. Instead of forcing polluters to clean up their act, the Bush administration has given them a get-out-of-jail-free card. This is an agreement of the polluters, by the polluters, and for the polluters. Last year, leaked documents revealed that this deal was crafted behind closed doors, by industry lobbyists, while the public was left in the dark. The Bush administration repeatedly denied that any such negotiations were taking place, until the EPA's own documents proved otherwise.... Under this deal, the companies are not actually required to reduce any harmful pollution. It's nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and does nothing to protect the health of neighbors and their children. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA already has the ability to require polluting facilities to provide data on their emissions, without exempting the polluters and putting nearby residents at risk. This is another example of the Bush administration striking deals behind closed doors. Whether it's Vice President Cheney's Secret Energy Task Force, power companies being allowed to draft rules on toxic mercury, or this new deal with the meat industry, it's clear that this administration is putting polluters before the public. Meanwhile, lest we forget, here's some background on OIRA interference with factory farm runoff.