By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of environmentalists filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this month asking it to declare ammonia from large farms a “criteria pollutant.”

Today, there are only six criteria pollutants and they are regulated more heavily by the EPA than other substances. These include ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and lead.
The 63-page petition was filed April 6. It states in part, “Congress enacted the Clean Air Act (CAA) to protect public health from diverse sources of air pollution, and empowered the EPA to establish regulations for different pollutants as scientific knowledge evolves … Ambient ammonia pollution currently endangers human health and welfare and EPA has an affirmative obligation to exercise its authority to regulate sources of ammonia emissions.”
The petition goes on to state that ammonia gas is emitted in “vast quantities” at concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), or large livestock farms.
This petition is a follow-up to a report issued by the lead environmental group, Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), last March.

The group held a press conference detailing its motivations and goals. The report, called Hazardous Pollution From Factory Farms: An Analysis of EPA’s National Air Emissions Monitoring Study Data, states that residents who live near industrial-scale livestock operations have long complained about odors and air pollution from these businesses.

The March 9 press conference featured the report’s lead author, EIP attorney Tara Heinzen, and several others.

“Our report concludes that the problem is sufficiently grave that EPA must overturn the 2008 Bush administration backroom deal that exempted livestock operations from most federal air pollution reporting rules,” Heinzen said. “This exemption was based on EPA’s assumption that factory farm emissions remain constant over time, and do not threaten public health.”

In another part of the press conference she said, “Our findings indicate that CAFOs emit dangerous air pollutants on an industrial scale and our report recommends that EPA overturn its pollution reporting exemption and use the Clean Air Act to protect public health. Rural citizens have the right to know what’s in their air and that the air they breathe is safe.”

If the EPA did grant the petition, agreeing with the EIP and other petitioners, it could trigger much tighter regulation of large livestock farms. Heinzen said she hopes that whether the citizens’ petition is granted, it will lead to more of a dialogue among environmental groups, the EPA and state agencies.

“EPA has been working with the industry for a number of years to find out more about emissions that are coming from large CAFOs,” she said in a separate interview.