has anyone heard about this?
The SAC office has just been informed by Sierra Club D.C. staff that Senator Larry Craig (ID) has been allowed to include an amendment in the FY05
Omnibus Appropriations bill that would exempt CAFOs (and other major agricultural emitters of pollution) from the requirement under the Superfund law and the Community-Right-to-Know-Act to report hazardous emissions and substances from their operations.
The reporting requirements apply only to total confinement operations (not to open feedlots) and for dairy cows, John Harbison a Sierra Club member of our C&E Committee has indicated that the reporting requirement affects large operations (e.g. over 1,000 dairy cows, large poultry confinement operations, etc.).
Note that these reporting requirements are public health and emergency response measures that apply to other businesses emitting hazardous substances in the community.
We only have a short time to oppose this amendment and get it out of the bill before the FY05 Omnibus Appropriations goes to the House and Senate floor for a vote, probably tomorrow for the House and Saturday for the Senate.
Sierra Club and other DC organizations recommend that we make phone calls to the following: Rep. Obey (WI), Rep. Young (FL), Senators Durbin (IL),
Chaffee (RI), Jeffords (VT), Milkulski (MD), Leahy (VT), Harkin (IA), Dorgan (ND), Murray (WA), and Reid (NV).
Senator Diane Feinstein (CA) is taking the lead in opposing this amendment.
Below is a factsheet about the reporting requirements at issue in the amendment. I am also attaching a copy of a sign-on letter sent to the
VA-HUD-Independent Agencies (EPA) appropriations subcommittee in September when Senator Craig attempted to attach the amendment to an appropriations bill.
Thanks for your attention,
Martha Noble
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
PROTECT RURAL COMMUNITIES --
KEEP FEDERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
FOR TOXIC CHEMICAL RELEASES FROM FACTORY FARMS
Reporting toxic releases from large livestock operations is key to ensuring rural communities access to critical information and to minimizing future releases.
Over the last several decades, agriculture has changed dramatically. Small farms have increasingly been replaced by mega-facilities that confine thousands or even hundreds of thousands of animals in a small area. These mega-facilities can produce thousands of tons of waste every year and are capable of releasing significant--even dangerous--quantities of toxic gases like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide into nearby communities. Both of these gases have been measured near livestock operations at concentrations of potential health concern for rural residents.
Federal requirements for reporting releases of hazardous chemicals from livestock mega-facilities provide local, state and federal public health and
environmental agencies with critical information about potentially dangerous releases that could affect nearby communities. Without this data, evaluating health risks and recommending actions to minimize the risk is difficult, if not impossible. There is no connection between reporting requirements and the process of listing sites on the Superfund National Priority List.
Federal reporting requirements for toxic releases are reasonable, and only require reporting for releases that exceed a set threshold and could pose a risk to nearby communities.
Section 103 of CERCLA and Section 104 of EPCRA set thresholds for reporting releases of specified chemicals, including ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, two toxic substances routinely released by large livestock operations. Facilities are not required to report every release, but must report
releases of 100 pounds or more of listed toxic chemicals to local, state and federal agencies.
Litigation regarding chemical releases from large livestock operation has been limited. The Sierra Club is aware of only three lawsuits. They are
located in Oklahoma, Idaho and Kentucky.
The largest livestock operations are the most likely to trigger reporting requirements. Small, traditional farms that raise animals in pastures are unlikely to be affected by this reporting requirement.
Many of the larger operations more likely to trigger the requirement have not estimated their chemical releases, but available examples indicate that large animal confinements can release enormous quantities of toxic chemicals
comparable to large manufacturing plants. According to a Department of Justice Consent Decree with Buckeye Egg Farm, its Croton facility had ammonia emissions of over 800 tons per year, or 1,600,000 pounds.
By comparison, 2002 Toxics Release Inventory data from Climax Molybdenum, a chemical manufacturer in Fort Mason, Iowa reported 1,600,000 pounds of point source air releases of ammonia --a figure identical to the Buckeye Egg facilty 's releases. Climax Molybdenum was ranked ninth in the nation among manufacturers for point source releases of ammonia.
Additionally, Seaboard Farms estimates its average ammonia releases from its 25,000-head swine operation in Oklahoma at 192 pounds per day, almost double the CERCLA reporting threshold. During high emission periods, Seaboard
estimates that the lagoon emissions alone--not including releases from confinement buildings, exceed 260 pounds per day.
For more information, contact:
Ed Hopkins, Sierra Club (675-7908)
Maria Weidner, Earthjustice (667-4500)
Michele Merkel, EIP (263-4452)