EPA Ends Long-Running Emissions Study Requirements for Livestock Farms

(NAFB.com) Livestock farmers will no longer face uncertainty over federal emissions-estimating requirements tied to a study launched nearly two decades ago. The Environmental Protection Agency says it will not finalize emissions-estimating methodologies developed under a 2005 agreement with livestock and poultry farms. The agency also plans to end the remaining obligations under that agreement. EPA says data collected from 2005 through 2007 are too old and limited to support reliable estimates, particularly as farm designs, production practices, and technologies have changed. The National Pork Producers Council has long opposed the effort, citing concerns about how the proposed methods could affect farms under federal air regulations. NPPC President Rob Brenneman, an Iowa pork producer, says every farm is different and should be evaluated based on its own location, practices, animals, and people. The decision brings an end to a lengthy period of uncertainty for pork producers and oth