March 29, 2018

US poultry industry hails passage of CERCLA reporting exemptions in omnibus

US poultry and egg producers praised the US Congress for passing legislation that provides farmers relief from federal emergency response laws that were never intended to apply to routine, non-emergency farming and ranching activities.

Included in the omnibus government spending packaging approved by Congress was the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method (FARM) Act. The legislation reverses a federal court ruling from last year and limits the circumstances in which farms would need to report air emissions from poultry and livestock operations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

A May 1 federal court deadline was set to impose the reporting mandate on an estimated quarter-million farmers and ranchers. The burden of reporting emissions from the natural breakdown of manure has been removed by Congress by including the FARM Act in the omnibus.

The National Turkey Federation, National Chicken Council, US Poultry & Egg Association and United Egg Producers appreciate this bi-partisan effort from both houses of Congress. A week earlier the House of Representatives had submitted a companion bill to the FARM legislation - the Agricultural Certainty for Reporting Emissions (ACRE) Act.

 "This united technical and legislative effort has been nearly 15 years in the making, and it is one of the most visible and essential demonstrations of support for US farmers. Our deep appreciation for this action and bi-partisan cooperation cannot be overstated," the poultry groups said in a statement.

The EPA had, for 10 years, exempted low-level continuous emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, a policy started by the Bush Administration and continued with the support of the Obama Administration. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down the rule based on the court's reading of the law, thus necessitating the need for decisive legislative action.

US poultry and egg producers welcome US President Donald Trump signing the bill into law.