Our Mission
Friends of Toppenish Creek is dedicated to protecting the rights of rural communities and improving oversight of industrial agriculture. FOTC operates under the simple principle that all people deserve clean air, clean water and protection from abuse that results when profit is favored over people. FOTC works through public education, citizen investigations, research, legislation, special events, and direct action.
Friends of Toppenish Creek does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in its programs or activities.
To Report a Manure Spill
WSDA 1-800-258-5990
Central WA Ecology 509-575-2490
In early 2023, the Friends of Toppenish Creek submitted a civil rights complaint to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging that the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency violated the civil rights of people who live in the Lower Yakima Valley. In the complaint FOTC said:
If people from the YRCAA spend any time in south Yakima County, they know that a great deal of conversation takes place in Spanish. When people in south Yakima County talk about odor in the ambient air, they do so in their native tongue. When they try to inform the YRCAA that “el aire está mal” the YRCAA staff respond to their concerns with unsupported phrases such as “that is part of living in the country” or “we are prohibited from regulating farm odors”, and that is the end of the discussion. This dismissive attitude further separates the Limited English Population from participation in public processes that English speakers take for granted.
FOTC was motivated to complain when, in December of 2022, the YRCAA Board of Directors appointed a representative from the fruit industry to fill the community at large position on the board without announcing this opportunity to the public, especially to the Spanish speaking population in the LYV.
On July 30, 2024 the EPA accepted the FOTC complaint for investigation. The EPA will consider:
- Whether YRCAA discriminated on the basis of race and/or national origin (including limited English proficiency) when implementing its Clean Air Act permit program, specifically with respect to methods of air emissions testing and complaint investigations.
- Whether YRCAA discriminated on the basis of national origin by failing to ensure meaningful access to its programs and activities, including but not limited to the environmental decision-making process, for individuals with limited English proficiency
Stock Piling Manure in Pens and Corrals
A myth that impedes progress in effective regulation of animal agriculture is the idea that whatever industry does is an acceptable practice. Seventy years ago few people would have found it acceptable to store animal manure in million gallon lagoons next to people’s homes. Bit by bit that practice has wormed its way into everyday life in rural America. Today many people consider this “normal”. Is confining animals on top of manure next?
Not too long ago CAFO owners routinely removed manure from pens and corrals. That practice is now changing as operators simply pile up the manure in the center of the lots and let it accumulate for years. In a letter to the EPA Ag & Water Quality Advisory Committee, Friends of Toppenish Creek describes what is happening in the Yakima Valley and summarizes the few regulatory actions in place.