Monday, August 15, 2005

               U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Thousands Sign Up for Animal Feeding Operations Air Compliance Agreement

     Contact:  Stacie Keller, 202-564-4355 / [log in to unmask]

(Washington, D.C.-August 15, 2005)  More than 2,000 animal feeding
operations (AFOs) have signed agreements for EPA's air compliance
initiative.  Sign-up ended Friday, but the agency will continue to
process agreements postmarked with Friday's date.  Many of the companies
that signed up have several farms that will come under the agreement.
Applicants originate from more than 37 states across the United States
and include representation from the pork, egg layers, meat birds, and
dairy industries.  After EPA makes an official determination as to
whether all types of animals are adequately represented, the agency will
request approval from EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB).  Once the
EAB approves the agreements, the monitoring study can begin.

"Thousands of farms across the country have committed to participating
in the air monitoring process, and, if necessary, take whatever steps
are required to come into compliance with clean air standards," said Jon
Scholl, agricultural adviser to the EPA administrator.  "This broad
participation is a major achievement.  We now will move as quickly as
possible to the monitoring and implementation stages."

The two-year monitoring study, expected to begin in early 2006, will
provide EPA with the essential data needed to develop emissions
estimating methods and tools, which will assist the industry and EPA in
determining the air compliance status of AFOs.  Participating AFOs will
then be required to determine their emissions and comply with all
applicable regulatory requirements.  Under the agreement, EPA will not
sue participating AFOs for certain violations of the Clean Air Act and
the hazardous release reporting requirements of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and
the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) that may
have occurred during the two-year study.

For more information about the agreement, go to:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/agreements/caa/cafo-agr-0501.html

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