Center Comments on EPA’s Consent Agreement with CAFO Industry

On behalf of the Clean Air Council, MAELC prepared and submitted comments to EPA in March 2005 in response to the Agency’s Animal Feeding Operations Consent Agreement and Final Order. The “Air Compliance Agreement” with the concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) industry absolves participating facilities from any failures to comply with Clean Air Act requirements and Superfund and Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act reporting requirements. The Agreement affects past violations and any during an additional two years while an emissions monitoring study is performed. After that, several more years of non-enforcement of the law is expected. More and more of the livestock business is being consolidated into CAFO facilities, which can have serious adverse effects on the environment. The concentration of animal wastes at CAFOs leads to air emissions that can often qualify facilities for Clean Air Act major source regulatory limitations. MAELC therefore opposed this “amnesty” program, arguing EPA lacks the legal basis for such a program, has established completely inadequate entry “penalties” for participating facilities, and has set parameters for a monitoring study that is designed to fail the public interest. Following an outcry from MAELC and many other organizations, EPA extended the public comment period, seeking more input to their process.