Senate Democrats Say EPA Lacks Authority To Exempt Livestock Operations From Hazardous Emissions

Senate Democrats have warned the Trump administration that the EPA lacks the authority to move forward with a proposed rule to exempt livestock operations from a requirement to report hazardous air emissions from animal waste to state and local emergency officials. The proposed rule "vastly exceeds EPA's statutory authority and countermands unambiguous Congressional intent," according to nine Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The Democrats, led by ranking committee member Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., sent a letter last month to EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler outlining their views and calling on the administration to withdraw the proposal. EPA's plan would shield farms from the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), which requires reporting of air emissions of hazardous chemicals above certain thresholds to local and state emergency response officials. The law affects large livestock operations as animal waste produces ammonia and hydrogen sulfides. Releases of more than 100 pounds a day of either gas must be reported under the law and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) can routinely reach the threshold. EPA has long suggested CAFOs should be exempt from the law but has struggled to convince federal courts. The proposed EPCRA rule, released in October, aims to extend the exemption once and for all, a move widely praised by meat and poultry producers.