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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in January the Air Quality Compliance Agreement to ensure that animal feeding operations (AFOs) comply with clean air laws and that methods used to monitor emissions from AFOs are based on sound science.

Livestock producers who sign the agreement must be willing to make their farm available for a two-year emissions study and are assessed a $200, $500 or $1,000 per farm penalty for possible past violations, depending on the size and number of farms they operate. Participants also must pay up to $2,500 to fund the study.

In return, the EPA offers participants a covenant not to sue for past air quality violations as well as during the study and subsequent two-year data analysis and policy development period.

Sally Shaver, director of the U.S EPA Emissions Standards Division, discussed the agreement during OFBF’s Ag Day at the Capital held last month. She said producers who pay the penalty are not admitting guilt.

"In order to have the consent agreement in place, there has to be the potential that there has been some violation of the federal statute," she said.

Although AFOs were previously subject to air quality laws, a 2002 report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concluded that there were no reliable methods for estimating AFO emissions. Those findings prompted the upcoming EPA study, which will be conducted by Purdue University.

David White, executive director of the Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC), said most producers who are in violation of clean air laws are unaware of their vulnerability to legal action and that this agreement offers a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Farms with emissions that exceed final regulatory thresholds as established by the study that fail to gain the protections of the agreement will become more susceptible to lawsuits for past and current emissions," he said.

Adam Sharp, OFBF director of national affairs, said while participants are shielded from legal action from the U.S. EPA, they are not protected from civil lawsuits.

Shaver said data from the study will be made public but did not yet know if the confidentiality of individual farms would be maintained.

Sharp and White both emphasized that livestock producers interested in signing onto the agreement should contact an attorney familiar with environmental law to fully understand their obligations and commitments as well as the legal protections being offered by the U.S. EPA.

The deadline to sign up is May 1. Approximately 28 farms that represent major animal groups will be chosen for the study; however, all who sign on and pay the penalty will receive the protections of the agreement.

For additional information or to initiate the sign-up process, producers can visit the National Pork Producer Council Web site at www.nppc.org or the U.S. EPA Web site at www.epa.gov/airlinks/airlinks1.html/.