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WSDA manure bill slips away

March 2, 2015, Olympia, WA – A Washington State Department of Agriculture proposal to regulate manure like pesticides has stumbled, tripped up by a lack of support.

In the place of new rules, however, farm groups advocate tucking more than $500,000 in the state budget to show farmers how to keep manure runoff from polluting streams or groundwater. The new approach — education over regulation — has emerged as a way lawmakers can address concerns over manure runoff contaminating shellfish beds in Whatcom and Skagit counties, and groundwater in Yakima County. READ MORE