By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. EPA has exempted U.S. farms from reporting air emissions to state and local first responders under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), after the agency finalized a new rule that amends the act’s current emergency release notification regulations.

The EPA said the measure also prioritizes the role of the nation’s first responders in hazardous livestock waste management, especially on farms with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

“This final rule provides clarity and certainty to the regulated community that animal waste emissions from farms do not need to be reported under EPCRA,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who signed the final rule June 4, which became effective immediately.

Last March, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 of the Omnibus Bill, entitled the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method (FARM) Act. Under FARM, U.S. farmers are exempt from reporting of air emissions from animal waste, which includes decomposing animal waste at a farm.

“This action eliminates an onerous reporting requirement and allows emergency responders and farmers to focus on protecting the public and feeding the nation, not routine animal waste emissions,” Wheeler said.

According to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), the FARM Act fixed a problem created in April 2017 when a U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a 2008 EPA rule that exempted farmers from reporting routine farm emissions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

The NPPC said the appeals ruling would have forced tens of thousands of livestock farmers to “guesstimate” and report the emissions from manure on their farms to the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Response Center, and subjected them to citizen lawsuits from activist groups.

In addition, the NPPC said state and local first responders have been clear they consider these reports unnecessary and burdensome. “Instead, they prefer open lines of communication and information sharing at the local level with farmers, something the U.S. pork industry is already undertaking,” the NPPC stated.

In fact, in many communities, pork producers are also local fire chiefs or members of the fire department, said David Herring, NPPC president and a Lillington, N.C., producer.

“Pork producers are very strong stewards of the environment and have taken many actions over the years to protect it,” he said. “We applaud President Trump for relieving America’s farmers from filing these unnecessary reports.”

John Starkey, president of USPOULTRY, said, “The removal of this unnecessary burden will ensure that emergency first responders’ important effort and time is not wasted on responding to non-emergencies.”

Jennifer Houston, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc., said farmers, ranchers, and emergency response officials all agree that routine emissions from agricultural operations are not a threat to local communities.

“Rather than submitting needless paperwork, talking to responders about potential on-farm hazards can save lives,” she said. “The removal of this unnecessary burden will allow first responders to focus on real emergencies, and will allow livestock producers to focus on feeding the world.”

Tim Gablehouse, president of the National Assoc. of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO), said the goal of emergency response officials and local emergency planning committees (LEPCs) is to prepare communities for emergency threats related to hazardous chemical releases.

“Such emergency threats do not include ‘best guess’ reporting on day-to-day emissions on farms and animal operations,” he said. “The focus of LEPCs should be and is on chemical hazards that present meaningful risk of harm to community members and first responders.

“We look forward to working on enhanced coordination and cooperation between all community members to improve preparedness for hazardous chemical releases.”

While the new rule frees up U.S. farmers from reporting air emissions to first responders, the EPA said the amendment does not exempt all releases from animal waste at farms.

“A release from animal waste into water (e.g., a lagoon breach) or a release from an anhydrous ammonia storage tank into the air remains subject to reporting requirements if the release exceeds the applicable reportable quantities,” the agency stated.