United States
                            Environmental
                            Protection Agency
              Office of Enforcement
              and Compliance
              Assurance (2201 A)
                                                                  EPA325-F-08-001
       )     Enforcement Alert
    pROffc0                »/
  Volume 9, Number 4
Office of Civil Enforcement
                                                                    August 2008
   Large Animal Feeding Operations:
Reducing Their Impact on Air  Quality
    EPA Implements Landmark Air  Compliance
           Agreement and Monitoring Study
  EPA  is  implementing  a
groundbreaking air quality agreement
with animal feeding operations that
concentrate hundreds or thousands
of animals in confined areas. This
nationwide agreement will create a
reliable method to estimate air emissions
from these operations. By applying
this method to estimate emissions,
the animal feeding operations will be
able  to determine if they are above
regulatory thresholds and must obtain
an emissions permit and install any
necessary controls.

A Growing Agricultural
Industry Raises
Environmental Concerns

  It is estimated that there are 450,000
animal feeding operations (AFOs) in the
United States. They produce massive
quantities of manure, urine and other
wastes. Emissions from their animal
waste storage areas can potentially harm
public health.
  The number of large animal feeding
operations is growing, with increasing
adverse effects.  For example, in 2005
over 100 AFOs across the country,
each housing 50,000 or more hogs,
generated the same amount of waste
as a city of 150,000. Large dairies and
                         poultry AFOs are also major sources
                         of waste.
                          The U.S. Department of Agriculture
                         estimates that confined animals excrete
                         three times more waste than the entire
                         American population each year.
                         Large scale animal feeding
                         operations have the potential
                          to emit significant quantities
                         of concentrated air pollution
                         from manure storage areas.
                           Clusters of AFOs in certain
                         areas of the country contribute to
                         significant air quality problems. For
                         example, the California Air Resources
                         Board estimates that dairies, many
                         concentrated in the San Joaquin Valley,
                         are the third-largest air pollution source
                         in the State, after car exhaust and
                         composting. EPA's Air Compliance
                         Agreement is anticipated to  help
                         alleviate this situation by reducing
                         AFO emissions in areas with high
                         concentrations of AFOs, such as the
                         San Joaquin Valley.

                         EPA Targets Agricultural
                         Pollutants of Concern

                         Aprimary goal of EPA's Air Compliance
                         Agreement is to ensure that AFOs
                      comply with the environmental laws.
                      The Agreement addresses ammonia,
                      hydrogen sulfide, chemical gases known
                      as volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
                      and small, breathable dust particles
                      known as paniculate matter (PM).
                        Exposure to airborne ammonia or
                      hydrogen sulfide can cause eye, nose
                      and throat irritation. Even low levels of
                      hydrogen sulfide can cause irreversible
                      damage to the nervous system.
                        VOCs contribute to ozone pollution,
                      which can irritate airways and aggravate
                      asthma and other lung diseases, leading
                      to serious health problems that range
                      from increased medication use to hospital
                      emissions. Repeated ozone exposure can
                      cause permanent lung damage.
                        PM, especially fine particles, can travel
                      deep into the lungs and can aggravate
                      heart and lung function, asthma attacks,
                      irregular heart beats and heart attacks.
                      Both ozone and fine particles have been
                      linked with premature death.
                            Outdoor Dairy AFO
              http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/newsletters/civil/enfalert/index.html

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                                           Enforcement Alert
 Background

    AFOs are  subject to permitting
 requirements under the Clean Air
 Act  (CAA)  if their emissions reach
 specified thresholds, as well as reporting
 requirements under the Comprehensive
 Environmental Response, Compensation,
 and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the
 Emergency Planning and Community
 Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
    Enforcing these requirements at
 AFOs has been difficult because there
 are no industry-wide,  scientifically
 sound methods for estimating AFO air
 emissions and  direct measurements of
 these emissions are expensive. EPA's
 enforcement actions under the CAA
 against Buckeye Egg Farm and Premium
 Standard Farms exemplify the problem.
 Although the actions were ultimately
 successful, the lack of an industry-wide
 method for assessing emissions meant
 EPA had to conduct extensive and
 expensive air monitoring at each facility
 to establish the violations. The cases took
 many years to resolve.
    EPA  commissioned the National
 Academy  of Sciences (NAS) to
 analyze  what methodology would
 effectively assess AFO emissions. NAS
 concluded that there were no industry-
 wide, scientifically credible ways to
 estimate  emissions. The problem was
 that  emissions vary from facility to
 facility depending on many factors, such
 as the number of animals confined, the
 species,  type of feed, manure handling
 and storage practices, barn ventilation
 methods, and climate.
    EPA determined that a comprehensive
 approach was needed that would both
 address the critical data gaps on AFO
 emissions by establishing the monitoring
 study recommended by NAS, and bring
 the industry as a whole into compliance
 with the CAA,  CERCLA and EPCRA.
    The Air Compliance Agreement is this
 comprehensive approach. The Agreement
 employs the type of monitoring study
 recommended by NAS and will result
 in the development of sound, nationally-
 applicable measurement methods for
 AFO emissions. The Agreement also
creates legally binding enforcement
obligations with respect to the compliance
status of participating AFOs. All AFOs
that signed the Agreement will measure
their emissions using the methodology
developed from the study and must apply
for permits if they trigger the emissions
thresholds.

Agreement: Highlights

   The Agreement requires the  nearly
2,600 participating AFOs to pay a civil
penalty for potential past and ongoing
violations, to fund the  national air
emissions monitoring study, and to make
their facilities available for monitoring.
The AFOs also committed to take all
necessary steps to come into compliance
with the CAA and applicable reporting
requirements.
   The monitoring study began in June
2007 to measure air pollutant releases
at 24 sites in nine states over a two-year
period. This data will be made available
to the public. Within 18 months  of
the study's completion in 2009, EPA
will develop and publish air emission
estimating methodologies for these types
of facilities. An independent science
advisor is conducting the monitoring
study and selected the representative
facilities  where emissions will be
tracked.
   Participating AFOs that comply
with the Agreement will not be sued by
the United States for past or ongoing
violations under the CAA, CERCLA or
EPCRA.
        Indoor Dairy AFO
   The participating facilities must use
the results of the monitoring study  to
determine their level of emissions, apply
for one or more permits if their emissions
are above regulatory levels, and install
any pollution controls required by law.
The facilities must also agree not  to
contest the study's results. Failure  to
fulfill any of these commitments revokes
EPA's commitment not to sue the facility
for environmental violations covered
under the Agreement.
 Air Agreement Essentials

 Goals:
   •Ensure  compliance  with
   CAA, CERCLA, and  EPCRA
   requirements.

   •Reduce air pollution.

   •Create a national methodology for
   estimating AFO air emissions

 Participation:
   •Nearly  2,600 participants
   representing nearly 14,000 facilities
   in 42 states.

   •Facilities in the pork, dairy, egg-
   laying and broiler chicken sectors
   nationwide, complete in 2009.

 Penalties:
   •Requires payment  of over $2.8
   million  dollars in total  civil
   penalties
                                       Disclaimer: This document attempts
                                       to clarify in plain language some
                                       EPA provisions.  Nothing in this
                                       Enforcement Alert revises or replaces
                                       any regulatory provision in the cited
                                       part, or any other  part of the Code
                                       of Federal Regulations, the Federal
                                       Register, or the Clean Air Act, the
                                       Comprehensive  Environmental
                                       Response,  Compensation  and
                                       Liability Act  or the Emergency
                                       Planning and Community Right-To-
                                       KnowAct. For more information go
                                       to:  www.epa.gov/compliance
August 2008

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                                          Enforcement Alert
 National Air Emissions Monitoring Study Highlights

   •  Developed by EPA and representatives from the AFO industry,
     states and local regulatory agencies, and environmental groups.

   •  Funded by industry at a cost of approximately $ 14.8 million.

   •  Conducted by an independent third party.

   •  Covers all major types of swine, dairy and poultry facilities.

   •  Monitoring to occur at 24 sites in nine states nationwide.

   •  Will continue for two years to account for weather
     and other conditions.

   •  Began in Spring 2007; to be complete in 2009.

   •  Air emissions will be measured for four pollutants:
     • Ammonia
     • Hydrogen sulfide
     • Paniculate matter
     • Volatile organic compounds
Indoor Swine AFO
                          Barn exhaust fans generate visible air emission from an egg-laying facility
August 2008

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                                          Enforcement Alert
Frequently Asked Question

How does EPA's Air Compliance Agreement impact state and local
governments' ability to enforce against AFOs?

States and local governments can rely on statutory or common law authority outside
of the CAA, CERCLA and EPCRA to enforce against AFOs, such as local odor.
nuisance and zoning laws. If participants fail to comply with local or state orders.
their agreements with EPA become void. Citizens can seek enforcement under local
laws.

Additional Information

    For more information on the Air Compliance Agreement, contact Sanda
    Howland at (202) 564-5022, e-mail: howland.sanda@epa.gov, or Timothy
    Sullivan (202) 564-2723, e-mail: sullivan.tim@epa.gov, EPA Special Litigation
    and Projects Division, Office of Civil Enforcement, Office of Enforcement and
    Compliance Assurance.

•   For more information on the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study
    (NAEMS), contact Bill Schrock (919) 541-5032, e-mail: schrock.bill@epa.gov,
    EPA Office of Air Quality, Planning and Standards Division, Office of Air and
    Radiation. EPA will periodically update a publically-available website with air
    monitoring study status reports and additional information.

General Information on AFOs

http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/anafoidx.html

Further Information on the Air Compliance Agreement and
National Air Emissions Monitoring Study

Introductory page to the Air Compliance Agreement and related links:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/agreements/caa/cafo-agr.html

Summary of the air monitoring study and related links:
http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/airmonitoringstudy.html

Home page  for the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study:
https://engineering.purdue.edu/~odor/NAEMS
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  Environmental Protection Agency
  Office of Civil Enforcement
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 Enforcement Alert
 Enforcement Alerts are published
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 and the regulated community about
 environmental enforcement issues,
 trends and significant enforcement
 actions.

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 Document Number: EPA 325-F-08-001
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  everyone's responsibility. Help
 EPA fight pollution by reporting
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    www.epa.gov/compliance
August 2008

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