Environmental Matters in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

The Bush Administration plans to eliminate requirements for farms to disclose air pollution from animal waste from feed lots and factory farms.  EPA proposes to exempt certain releases of hazardous substances to the air from the notification requirements of CERCLA and EPCRA, as implemented in 40 CFR 302.6 and 40 CFR 355.40, respectively. Specifically, U.S. EPA proposes to exempt those hazardous substance releases that are emitted to the air (typically during digestion, break-down or decomposition) from animal waste at farms. Although ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are the most recognized hazardous substances that are emitted from animal waste, there may also be some amounts of additional hazardous substances released.  Ammonia is a by-product of the break-down of urea and proteins that are contained in animal waste. Hydrogen sulfide is another by-product of the break-down of animal waste. These hazardous substances can be emitted when animal waste is contained in a lagoon or stored in under-floor manure pits in some animal housing, manure stockpiles, or in the open where animals congregate. Open air or dry manure stockpiles are not generally associated with significant hydrogen sulfide emissions.  Additional hazardous substances may be emitted to the air from animal waste.

Currently farms must report to federal, state and local officials when emissions of hazardous substances like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide exceed certain levels. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed eliminating the reporting requirement. EPA argued that the requirement created an unnecessary burden for farms and that the emission release reports weren’t acted on at the federal level, but at the state level.  Public comment for the proposed change closes March 27, 2008.

Under the proposed exemption, the term “farm” means (a.) any place whose operation is agricultural and from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. Operations receiving $1,000 or more in Federal government payments are counted as farms, even if they have no sales and otherwise lack the potential to have $1,000 or more in sales; or, (b.) a federal or state poultry, swine, dairy or livestock research farm.

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2007-0469, by one of the following methods: http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments. E-mail: superfund.docket@epa.gov. Fax: (202) 566-9744.  Mail: Superfund Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail code: [2822T], 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.  This exemption should be of interest to people living in western and southern Kentucky where large industrial chicken and pig farms are located.