Often, state officials medallion cabinets blame each other for the bay s pollution; Maryland is fond

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Many Amish people medallion cabinets have denounced the Discovery Channel s Amish Mafia TV show, now entering its fourth season , in part because medallion cabinets the contrived show has brought them unwanted attention from law enforcement. It furthered a perception they would rather not have out there — that behind the Little House on the Prairie façade lurks a seedy underground rife with drug use, exorcisms, and counterfeit homemade goods.
In late 2009, federal agents swooped into a collection of Amish farms in a quiet area of Lancaster County, Pa., where they found troubling medallion cabinets evidence of water pollution: High concentrations of nitrates and E. coli bacteria in the water wells, loose manure not properly stored in tanks or sheds, and few livestock fences to keep cows from standing (and presumably defecating) in streams.
EPA inspectors found violations medallion cabinets on 85 percent of the Amish farms. They warned the farmers that about half of their drinking water was contaminated with pathogens, and that they needed plans to bring their farms into the modern age of pollution control and conservation.
It s not like some of the Amish farmers weren t aware of these problems. One of them had just installed a water-treatment system because he believed the pollution caused his cows to birth dead calves. And the wider damage to the Chesapeake has been well-reported in the region: Excess manure from farms leads to algae blooms that contribute to large swaths of dead zones, where crabs and fish are so deprived of oxygen that they can t survive.
Plain Sect Amish eschew any kind of government intervention. They consider themselves sovereign. They neither pay into social security and government health benefits nor receive them. They speak their own language and attend their own schools. They follow their own scriptures and codes. So it s not surprising that some of their farms wouldn t be up to EPA s codes.
But while they don t contribute to government benefits, they continue to be a major contributor medallion cabinets to the pollution flowing through the Chesapeake Bay. Agriculture is the largest source of pollution in the Chesapeake, which is fed by a 64,000-square-mile watershed that includes parts of six states and Washington, D.C. The EPA has identified three pollution hot spots, where its scientists have concluded a disproportionate amount of pollution is coming relative medallion cabinets to size: the Shenandoah Valley, the Delmarva Peninsula, and the Amish s home base in Lancaster County.
The Shenandoah Valley medallion cabinets and the Delmarva Peninsula include many concentrated animal feeding operations — medallion cabinets large-scale farms in laymen s language — with thousands of chickens or cows. They require a federal permit and a great deal of oversight. By contrast, the Lancaster County farms tend to be small, with a few dozen head of milk cows, heifers, or horses on each. And yet they are prodigious polluters. In 2007, Lancaster County generated 61 million pounds of manure. That is six times more than what other counties generated, according to The New York Times .
Often, state officials medallion cabinets blame each other for the bay s pollution; Maryland is fond of pointing a finger at Pennsylvania for dumping its sediment downstream; Virginia officials are miffed that Maryland medallion cabinets leaders try to take all the credit for restoration work; and West Virginia s own attorney general is suing the EPA over its mandatory Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. But in the case of Watson medallion cabinets s Run, there is no one else to blame but the farmers.
Watson Run is a headwater stream without any influence of any upstream water bodies, the EPA Summary Paper reads. Therefore, stream impairments in Watson Run are not being caused by upstream sources.
The agency is now requiring farmers to follow the state laws already in place and develop plans to control sediment, store manure, and dispose of dead animals. Most farmers medallion cabinets know they have to take these steps — not just because the EPA says so, but because their land and water will be healthier if they do. So perhaps it’s no surprise that after Watson Run, more than a few Amish farmers have been willing to lose a little of their religion over the government-aid question.
The U.S. Farm Bill and state programs offer millions of dollars in assistance to Chesapeake Bay farmers every year for practices that reduce pollution from farms. They include fencing cattle from streams, retrofitting barns to collect stormwater, ta