Animal
Feeding
Operations
Air
Quality
Compliance
Agreement
Fact
Sheet
June
22,
2005
Status
 
The
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA)
announced
the
Air
Quality
Compliance
Agreement
(
Agreement)
on
January
21,
2005.
The
Agreement
was
published
in
the
Federal
Register,
and
EPA
solicited
public
comments
on
the
Agreement
through
May
2,
2005.
 
EPA
negotiators
have
worked
with
industry
representatives,
EPA
regions,
state
and
local
governments,
environmental
groups
and
other
stakeholders
to
develop
a
proposed
Agreement
for
Animal
Feeding
Operations
(
AFOs).
 
EPA
negotiators
and
industry
representatives
agreed
on
issues,
and
negotiations
concluded.
 
AFOs
have
until
July
29,
2005,
to
sign
an
Agreement
with
EPA.

Primary
Goals
of
the
Air
Quality
Compliance
Agreement
 
Reduce
air
pollution
 
Ensure
compliance
with
applicable
Clean
Air
Act,
Comprehensive
Environmental
Response,
Compensation
and
Liability
Act
(
CERCLA)
and
Environmental
Planning
and
Community
Right­
to­
Know
Act
(
EPCRA)
provisions
 
Monitor
and
evaluate
AFO
emissions
 
Promote
a
national
consensus
on
methodologies
for
estimating
emissions
from
AFOs.

Background
 
A
2002
report
by
the
National
Academy
of
Sciences
emphasized
that
scientifically
credible
methodologies
for
estimating
emissions
from
AFOs
needed
to
be
developed.
 
Commencing
in
2002,
EPA
and
industry
representatives
began
discussions
on
a
proposed
Agreement
that
would
facilitate
the
development
of
these
methodologies.
 
During
2002­
2004,
EPA
met
with
many
groups
to
discuss
the
proposed
Agreement,
including:
o
Agricultural
industry
representatives
o
State
and
local
government
officials,
including
the
State
and
Territorial
Air
Pollution
Program
Administrators
(
STAPPA),
and
Association
of
Local
Air
Pollution
Control
Officials
(
ALAPCO)
o
Environmental
organizations
 
Citizen
groups
Key
Provisions
in
the
Air
Quality
Compliance
Agreement
 
Participating
AFOs
will
be
required
to:
o
Pay
a
civil
penalty,
ranging
from
$
200
to
$
100,000,
depending
on
the
size
and
number
of
AFOs.
o
Pay
up
to
$
2,500
into
a
fund
for
a
nationwide
emissions
monitoring
program
o
Make
facilities
available
for
monitoring.
o
Apply
for
all
applicable
air
permits
and
comply
with
permit
conditions.
o
Install
Best
Available
Control
Technology
(
BACT)
or
control
technology
meeting
the
Lowest
Achievable
Emission
Rate
(
LAER)
on
all
sources
that
exceed
the
"
major
source"
threshold
for
their
area.
o
Report
any
qualifying
releases
of
ammonia
(
NH3)
and
hydrogen
sulfide
(
H2S)
as
required
by
section
103
of
CERCLA
and
section
304
of
EPCRA.
 
AFOs
that
satisfy
these
requirements
will
receive,
from
EPA,
a
covenant
not
to
sue
for
past
violations
of:
o
Clean
Air
Act
permitting
requirements
in
Title
V,
and
Title
I
Parts
C
&
D
Prevention
of
Significant
Deterioration/
New
Source
Review,
and
State
Implementation
Plans
arising
from
emissions
of
Nitrogen
Oxides
(
NOx),
Hydrogen
Sulfide
(
H2S),
Volatile
Organic
Compounds
(
VOCs),
or
Particulate
Matter
(
PM)
from
animal
confinement
structures
and
agricultural
livestock
waste
lagoons.
o
CERCLA
section
103
and
EPCRA
section
304
hazardous
substance
reporting
requirements
arising
from
releases
of
(
NH3)
and
H2S
from
animal
confinement
structures
and
agricultural
livestock
waste
lagoons.
 
Conditions
and
limits
of
the
covenant
not
to
sue:
o
EPA
will
continue
to
prosecute
cases
that
may
present
an
imminent
and
substantial
endangerment
to
human
health.
o
The
covenant
not
to
sue
applies
to
past
violations
and
will
terminate
after
a
short
period
following
the
monitoring
program.
o
The
covenant
not
to
sue
covers
only
violations
related
to
emissions
from
agricultural
livestock
and
agricultural
livestock
waste.
o
The
covenant
does
not
cover
emissions
from
generators
or
other
internal
combustion
engines,
waste­
to­
energy
systems
and
land
application
of
animal
waste.
The
covenant
not
to
sue
also
does
not
cover
emissions
from
sources
not
participating
in
the
Agreement.
o
The
covenant
not
to
sue
does
not
affect
permits
required
for
new
construction
or
modification
of
existing
AFOs.
o
The
covenant
not
to
sue
will
be
nullified
if
AFOs
fail
to
comply
with
state
nuisance
final
orders
relating
to
air
emissions.
o
AFOs
that
are
subject
to
federal
or
state
Clean
Air
Act,
CERCLA
section
103
or
EPCRA
section
304
enforcement
actions
may
not
be
eligible
to
enter
into
the
Agreement.
o
EPA
will
continue
to
prosecute
cases
that
may
present
an
imminent
and
substantial
endangerment
to
human
health.

 
Additional
Protections
and
Benefits:
o
AFOs
that
install
waste­
to­
energy
systems
in
compliance
with
all
applicable
permitting
and
control
requirements
will
get
additional
time
to
apply
for
air
permits
for
their
emissions
from
agricultural
livestock
and
livestock
waste.
o
The
Agreement
will
complement
ongoing
state
and
local
efforts
to
promote
research
into
AFO
air
emissions
and
to
improve
air
quality.

Nationwide
Monitoring
Program
 
Based
on
EPA
criteria,
an
independent
organization
will
select
for
monitoring
approximately
28
farms
that
represent
major
animal
groups
(
e.
g.
swine,
dairy,
and
poultry),
different
types
of
operations,
and
different
geographic
regions.
EPA
will
ensure
the
farms
selected
for
monitoring
are
representative.
 
Monitoring
will
occur
at
the
selected
lagoons
and
barns
for
approximately
24
months.
 
Pollutants
to
be
monitored
include
PM
(
TSP,
PM10
and
PM2.5),
H2S,
VOCs,
NH3
and
NOx.
