Dairy farmers may no longer have to worry about having to report air emissions from manure.
Clay Delefsen, chief counsel for the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said in a recent appearance on the federation’s Dairy Defined podcast that the industry is “near [a] win” with regards to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
The EPCRA was created in 1986 to help communities respond to and plan for chemical emergencies, which required various industries to report on the storage, use and release of hazardous substances to all levels of government. It was inspired by a major global event – a chemical leak at the Union Carbide facility in Bhopal, India, which saw methyl isocyante and killed nearly 3,000 residents almost instantly. The tragedy prompted U.S. Congress to implement stronger laws to deal with chemical emergencies.
Detlefsen praised the law as a “good law” – but where the law has turned into a thorn in producer’ sides is the burden placed on dairy and livestock producers.
In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made a crucial move in favor of livestock producers: it exempted manure-related emissions. Despite the positive move, it hasn’t been a clear win for producers in the near 20 years since; the exemption has been challenged by activist groups. The 2008 promulgation prompted a lawsuit, which eventually made its way to the DC Court of Appeals in 2017, which determined that air emissions from manure were reportable under EPCRA, as well as the companion law CECLA.
Following work from the NMPF and other producer groups, federal courts ruled that the initial exemption secured was “valid and appropriate,” said Detlefsen. That decision is now under appeal, with oral arguments likely to be heard either this fall or early next year.
But Detlefsen is confident that the NMPF and producers will be victorious at the Court of Appeals.
“The U.S. Supreme Court will not take this up, therefore it will be done in the legal process,” he said. “I think we’ll leverage that to go back to EPA and say, ‘look, the courts have run all thet raps on this and have consistently found that the exemption was properly executed. You need to reaffirm that and put this matter to bed once and for all.’”
Learn more about the ruling and listen to the full Dairy Defined podcast episode here.
