CLA is thrilled to share this announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding CERCLA/EPCRA reporting requirements.
“On July 24, 2018, EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a final rule that made changes in regulations to conform to the FARM Act. The final rule also removes the regulatory text of EPA’s 2008 rule that provided an exemption to farms from reporting. The rule responds to the vacatur of the CERCLA/EPCRA reporting exemption from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
On December 18, 2008, EPA published a final rule that exempted many farms from reporting air releases of hazardous substances from animal waste. On April 11, 2017, the D.C. Circuit Court vacated this final rule. Farms, however, remained exempt because of legislative changes in the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method (FARM) Act, which was signed into law on March 23, 2018. The final rule makes regulatory revisions to reflect changes to CERCLA enacted in the FARM Act. The Agency also removed the 2008 definitions of “farm” and “animal waste” from its regulations and added revised definitions of these terms to CERCLA regulations that correspond with the FARM Act.”
For more information, about this issue visit the EPA webpage at www.epa.gov/animalwaste.
