Nitrate Study Peer Review Pt 2

Nitrate Study Peer Review Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. The patience of Yakima Valley dairy farmers is wearing thin. A very questionable nitrate study done several years ago blames the dairies for nitrate levels in the ground water.

So bottom line, Save Family Farming Executive Director, Gerald Baron says dairy farmers are being held accountable for a false study ...

BARON ... "But, what really makes it bad is the fact that this study was never subjected to the peer review that was required by federal policy and that when EPA staff was challenged on this lack of peer review, they lied about it to the administrator."

Even when the Trump-appointed Northwest Administrator asked the EPA about that, Baron says ...

BARON ... "They said it was thorough and complete, which is far from the truth. Then, when they were caught in this, they tried to change the category of this study so that it didn't need the peer review that the EPA and federal policy required."

This, Baron says, is why it's such a serious matter ...

BARON ... "We have two levels of problem. One is the fact that the study itself is fraudulent and, that's not our term, that's the term of some very high-level agriculture scientists who have looked at it. And, the other problem is the fact that they have tried to avoid their failure in conducting this science review by real experts, by claiming that it didn't ever need that science review, despite the fact the record clearly shows that it did."

Tune in tomorrow for more on the frustration and the ultimate cost of this heavily scrutinized nitrate study.

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