Seven state attorneys-general have written Congress stating their opposition to legislation (H.R. 4341) that would exempt manure from CERCLA/Superfund. In a letter to Congress, the attorneys-general said, "As the chief legal officers of our states, we think the proposed amendments, if enacted, would seriously impair our ability to protect the health of our citizens and the environment.

"H.R. 4341 would exempt industrial-scale animal feeding operations from the provisions of CERCLA that require releases of hazardous substances to be reported to the government and the provisions that, among other things, authorize states to recover the costs of responding to releases of hazardous substances and the resulting damages to natural resources."

Signing the letter were the attorneys-general of California, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
-- P. Scott Shearer, Washington, D.C., correspondent