Farm groups ask court to dismiss farm emissions reporting rule case

The National Pork Producers Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit seeking a broad interpretation of the requirements for reporting emissions from animal waste.  

Animal and environmental activist groups sued EPA in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over a section of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) that exempts livestock and poultry farmers from reporting routine air emissions from animal waste. EPCRA requires certain entities to notify state and local authorities, including first responders, about accidental spills and releases of hazardous materials and chemicals. 

The law initially exempted livestock and poultry farmers from reporting, but a 2017 court decision rejected the exemption. In 2018, Congress approved the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method (FARM) Act, which reinstated the exclusion.… Continue reading