In an effort to keep mountains of hog manure and other animal wastes out of waterways, the U.S. EPA today will outline new pollution rules it wants to impose on factory farms. Under the rules, large hog and dairy operations would have to get pollution permits from state environmental agencies, requiring that they safely store manure. But enviros are already declaring the proposal a failure, saying state agencies would have too much leeway in setting standards. The EPA will collect public comments on the proposed rules through October and release final guidelines by the end of the year.
