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Well you are corret. The EPA has been regulating dust since 1987 and is now ‘tightening’ the regulations. EPA on Tightening Dust regulations: http://www.epa.gov/region9/air/phoenixpm/fuss.html

That may be an old web page. It says "new regulation" but uses 1999 as a future date. It's not clear to me where Cain got his information.

Lisa Jackson, EPA head, is an enviro-koolaid drinker (but who in the Obama Regime isn't, and she may not be the worst.) She testified before congress in May 2011 LINK:"Another mischaracterization is the claim that EPA is attempting to expand regulation of dust from farms. We have no plans to do so, but let me be clear, the Clean Air Act passed by Congress mandates that the Agency routinely review the science of various pollutants, including Particulate Matter, which is directly responsible for heart attacks and premature deaths. EPA’s independent science panel is currently reviewing that science, and at my direction EPA staff is conducting meetings to engage with and listen to farmers and ranchers well before we even propose any rule."

Is she an honest Leftist, or a lying one like Obama himself? She says they have "no plans" to "expand" those regs.

LINK: Mike Johanns (R-Neb.): "Administrator Jackson said — and I'm using her words — has said that it's a 'myth' that the EPA is proposing to regulate farm dust,'" he said on the Senate floor. "But then her agency says 'No, we can't distinguish farm dust and other dust subject to regulation.'"

1) If we claim that the EPA will "tighten" dust regs in 2012 and they don't, does that reinforce the false claim that we are all ignorant yahoos?

2) The current "dust regs" are bad enough, and I am glad some members of congress are trying to reform them. Should we trust the EPA to do the right thing? Hell no. If you show me an example of dust pollution so bad that people can't breathe, do we really need and EPA for that, or is there some other law which would apply?

3) I would be happy if we could replace the EPA with a new agency that concerned itself with real pollution (like the toxic stuff that used to come from big smokestacks in the 1970s and fell on residential neightborhoods), but I don't want to put too much faith in human nature. Many voters say they want jobs but vote for those who destroy them.

This is no worst than the EPA drove the dairy farms out of Western Washington over to Eastern Washington.. They shut down a Puget Power Dam on a lake I live next two. They made it unfeasible for the Plant to operate and make money after they shut down how much water they could divert into the lake for power to save the Salmon! The EPA in the 1980’s also shut down most Mom and Pop Gas Stations when they came out with new regulations to make them change their gas tanks. Most little gas stations couldn’t afford the $150,000 price tag and went out of business. This forced some drivers to drive 50 miles to get gas for their cars!!!

This is no worst than the EPA drove the dairy farms out of Western Washington over to Eastern Washington.. They shut down a Puget Power Dam on a lake I live next too. They made it unfeasible for the Plant to operate and make money after they shut down how much water they could divert into the lake for power to save the Salmon! The EPA in the 1980’s also shut down most Mom and Pop Gas Stations when they came out with new regulations to make them change their gas tanks. Most little gas stations couldn’t afford the $150,000 price tag and went out of business. This forced some drivers to drive 50 miles to get gas for their cars!!!

It's later and here's what I found out.
History:
The EPA has been regulating particulates since 1971 with their standards evolving over time.
In 1987 the EPA began concentrating on particulates 10 micrometers in diameter and smaller (PM-10), setting daily and annual standards.
In 1997 the EPA added daily and annual standards for fine particulates of 2.5 micrometers and less (PM-2.5).
In 2006 the EPA kept the daily 1987 standard for particulates of 10 micrometers (PM-10) while revoking the annual standard for standard for particulates of 10 micrometers (PM-10). The EPA also revised/tightened the standards for fine particulates.
In 2011 the EPA "is in the midst of a regularly scheduled review [every 5 years] of its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particle pollution, also called particulate matter or PM."

The EPA sets daily and annual particulate standards based on particulate size, not particulate type or industry, including agriculture. Each state determines how to meet the standards in a way that makes the most sense for that area.

California and Arizona are two states addressing PM10 from agriculture.

Per the EPA"Particulate matter, or PM, is the term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets".

Per the EPA dust sources include:
· Construction sites
· Agricultural fields
· Unpaved roads
· Unpaved parking lots
· Disturbed vacant lots

Per the EPA ways to control dust include:
· Applying gravel, chemical or organic soil stabilizers, or paving over unpaved parking lots and unpaved roads frequently traveled.
· Applying water or other dust suppressants when vacant lots are weeded.
· Applying dust suppressants or revegetating vacant lots disturbed by vehicles or other activities.
· Fencing off or placing barriers on vacant lots to prevent vehicles from trespassing

The EPA states that all these regulations are required to address health issues caused by particulates.

Lisa Jackson's speech to congress was very carefully crafteded to conceal 'tightening' of particulate standards that, if history is a measure, will result from the current EPA review.

Some of the issues spoken about agriculture stem from the EPA's ongoing 'negotiations' with Maricopa county regarding particulates. These negotiations seem to go back to at least 2001 and be continued most recently in 2010.

The 'science' behind the EPA's regulation has been strongly criticized, much like the 'science' behind man-made global warming.