Editor, The Herald:

This letter is in response to a letter published on December 29 regarding the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention legislation by our Congressman, Robert Hurt.

While I am not usually inclined to write Letters to the Editor, the misrepresentation of the truth, in my opinion, found in the December 29th letter, “Hurt's Dust Bill Is Blowing Smoke” compelled me to set the facts straight.

I am well aware of the problems generated for our farmers by overreaching federal government regulations. There is no shortage of regulations on our small farms, but what there is, is a shortage of jobs for those in rural communities-and that is in large part due to the cost of keeping up with these federal government regulations, I have come to learn.

And government regulations can stifle job creation even when they aren't in place, because the constant worry that they might come to be, is enough to stop our farmers from expanding their operations or putting an extra employee on their payroll.

I think the author of the December 29th letter states a very important fact when he says that the, “EPA issued a statement making it clear that it had no plans to regulate farm dust,” but the point he is missing is that even though the EPA has indicated that there aren't plans to impose high Particulate Matter (PM) Standards, that does not mean it cannot if it chooses – or is forced to.

This author fails to realize that many standards set forth by the EPA come as a result of outside actors, like environmental groups, threatening law suits to promote rulemaking that suits their interests and may not be in the best interest of the public.

This is precisely what this bill seeks to address- the uncertainly caused by often ambiguous rulemaking imposed by agencies like the EPA. Oftentimes these rules are made with no regard for how they affect the people like us back home in Southside. Those up in Washington don't understand what regulation or rural dust could do to our family and friends who would have to limit productivity on their farms just to keep in line with EPA rules.

That is why I am glad we have a representative that does understand. Rep. Hurt, a Southside native, understands what kind of negative consequences the impacts of unnecessary regulations can have on people here in Southside and is working hard to fight for us.

I would also like to clear up one other flawed conclusion the author draws. He says, “the bill is so broadly written that if it passed the Senate and is signed by President Obama, it can be used to weaken or eliminate restrictions on air pollution by mining, oil refining and other heavily polluting industries, creating regulatory uncertainly about standards that have been in place for years.”

I can tell you that I could not support any legislation that potentially paved the way for releasing toxins into our soil, and so I read this legislation in its entirety. Within the text of this bill, which I encourage readers to view at Thomas.loc.gov, it states in no unclear fashion that the 'nuisance dust' referred to in this bill does not include particulate matter produced from mining or processing.

It is unfortunate that fellow citizens will take the time to write their local newspaper, but will not take the time to fact check their letters before they do so. I am proud to call Congressman Hurt my representative and I am thankful for all that he has done on behalf of my industry, on behalf of out rural farmers, and on behalf of Southside in his first term in Congress

Wayne Bolton

Greenbay

Richard Altice

Farmville

(Editor's note: Rep. Hurt was born in New York City, and raised in Chatham)