Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 11/23/17



The District of Columbia Court of Appeals has granted a request by the Environmental Protection Agency to extend a stay delaying the requirement that farms report manure-based airborne emissions of ammonia, EPA said.

The stay delays the reporting mandate until Jan. 22, 2018. Farms with continuous releases do not have to submit their initial continuous release notification until the court issues an order enforcing its opinion of April 11, 2017, EPA said.

EPA's request for an extension came after the agency issued guidance acknowledging that reporting was hindered by a lack of scientifically based information that would allow farmers to estimate emissions. U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) and the National Pork Producers Council supported the EPA request for more time, pointing to the National Response Commission (NRC) reporting system’s incapacity to handle the thousands of calls that will accompany a reporting mandate of this type.   

“Hopefully, this extension of time will allow the agency to develop additional guidance that gives our farmers certainty that they are truly required to report rather than speculate. We also hope the additional time will give the NRC a chance to upgrade their system to handle the increased call volume this reporting requirement will certainly bring,” John Starkey, USPOULTRY president, said in a press release.

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