Farms Catch Reporting Break

摘要

Acknowledging that compliance with emissions reporting requirements may put some small farms out of business, EPA has issued a final rule exempting certain farms from reportable quantity (RQ) requirements under CERCLA and EPCRA. The exemption will apply to air emissions from animal waste, which is defined in the rule. Entities covered by the exemption are also limited in the rule to farms; this means that other types of facilities where large amounts of animal waste are generated (e.g., zoos and rodeos) must still report their RQs as required under the two statutes. In addition to the economic argument, the Agency said it considered whether EPA would ever order an emergency response as a result of a notification that a hazardous substances released from animal waste at farms to the air met or exceeded that substance's RQ.