As a result of a new rule published on December 18, 2009 and effective January 20, 2009, Large CAFOs are not exempt and must comply with the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). All livestock operations are exempt under CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, and Compensation, and Liability Act). The lack of an across-the-board exemption means that large CAFOs still are required to report air emissions (under EPCRA only) if the estimated maximum daily emission rate for a listed substance exceeds the specified threshold. Participants in the EPA air consent agreement were granted a temporary reprieve in liability for meeting this reporting requirement when they signed the agreement. There was wide-spread belief that the recent final ruling would include an across-the-board administrative exemption for reporting air emissions that normally arise from raising farm animals for both CERCLA and EPCRA, as was proposed by EPA in December of 2007. Consequently, the reworded final ruling came as a surprise to many. Since the latest ruling does not change the law under EPCRA (it only provides an exemption for some to the existing law) and producers were given an opportunity to sign the air consent agreement, EPA's position is that there was no need to provide a grace period to come into compliance. To be in compliance with EPCRA law, large CAFOs that have not signed the EPA air consent agreement or already reported their emissions need to report as soon as possible. For more information on this rule see:
EPCRA Requirements This FAQ was developed and reviewed by Chris Henry and Rick Stowell, University of Nebraska and Carol Galloway, US EPA Region 7

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