Farmers Seek Delay For Hazardous Air Emission Rule

Chicken and hog farmers want a federal court to delay a rule that would require they report certain hazardous air emissions from manure pits, but Hoosier farmers aren’t sure how they’d comply with the rule if it goes into effect.

A federal court ruled last April farms were not exempt from a 2008 Environmental Protection Agency rule regulating hazardous air emissions. The ruling takes effect Nov. 15, but Indiana Pork Producers executive director Josh Trenary says the EPA and ag industry groups want a delay.

“Somehow farms are going to have to decide how they’re going to estimate what kind of emissions are generated by their facility,” he says.

Trenary says manure byproducts are natural and continuous, and there’s no generally accepted way to estimate the amount emitted.

Animal agriculture opponents have long pushed the EPA to regulate hazardous air emissions, which can potentially cause health problems for neighbors.