Ag News

Court affirms emissions reporting exemption for animal ag

In an Aug. 7 ruling the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld livestock groups’ exemption from emissions reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as the Superfund Law).

 “We are pleased that the court has acknowledged EPA's deliberate determination that the EPCRA reporting exemption is appropriate,” said USPOULTRY President Nath Morris. “This common-sense ruling settles an issue that has spanned more than 20 years and rightfully removes what would be nothing more than an unnecessary paperwork exercise for farmers and ranchers across the U.S.” 

The ruling comes after a coalition of environmental groups filed a motion for summary judgment challenging the exemption. USPOULTRY, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau intervened in the lawsuit on EPA’s behalf.

Animal agriculture groups have maintained that the CERCLA and EPCRA programs were never meant to cover the release into the air of naturally occurring substances that originate from the breakdown of animal waste.

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