CAFO Air Emissions and Enforcement. Susan O Keefe STAPPA/ALAPCO National Meeting May 5, 2003

Transcription

1 CAFO Air Emissions and Enforcement Susan O Keefe STAPPA/ALAPCO National Meeting May 5, 2003

2 Industry Consolidation Industry Consolidation Then. 1977: 850,000 pork farms 1988: 7% of pork from producers w/50,000 or more hogs 1988: 32% of pork from producers w/less than 1,000 hogs Now. 1999: 100,000 pork farms 2000: 51% of pork from producers w/at least 50,000 hogs 2000: 2% of pork from producers w/less than 1,000 hogs

3 Industry Industry Consolidation-cont. cont. Today. some hog farms have over 100,000 hogs at any one time some egg layer farms have several million chickens at any one time

4 Pressure To Pressure Take Action To Take Action Local residents Citizen suits States Possible public health concerns No exemption for agriculture in the Clean Air Act or CERCLA

5 Swine CAFO Air Emissions CAFOs emit large amounts of several air pollutants, including: Ammonia (NH3)-CERCLA Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-CERCLA/CAA Particulate matter (PM)-CAA Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)-CAA Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)-CAA

6 Sources of Emissions Primarily from: Animal housing structures (e.g. barns, covered feed lots) Manure storage areas (e.g. lagoons, covered manure piles) Fields where manure is land applied

7 Brief Overview Of The Law Applicable Statutes Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Commonly referred to as Superfund Clean Air Act (CAA)

8 CERCLA CERCLA Section103 Requires: -person with knowledge of -any release of a hazardous substance -in quantities greater than or equal to the reportable quantity (or RQ), -must notify the National Response Center.

9 CERCLA-cont. Hazardous substances: Ammonia (RQ=100 pounds per day) Hydrogen Sulfide (RQ=100 pounds per day) Ammonia and H2S emitted continuously Because of continuous releases May report under continuous release reporting option

10 CERCLA-cont. Continuous Release Reporting Option Verbal notification of initial incident to NRC Within 30 days of initial verbal notification, reporter must submit a one-time initial written notice to NRC. Submission of a one-time anniversary report

11 CERCLA-cont. CERCLA-cont. Report must include: Farm name and address Date of release Name of substance (ammonia/ H2S) Location and source of release Number of days release occurred Upper and lower bounds (poundage) of continuous release Affected media (air, water, etc.)

12 CERCLA-cont. Example: Source of release: Primary effluent treatment lagoon #1 Affected media: air Name of substance: ammonia Upper bound: 139lbs/day, lower bound: 0 Months of release: Jan-Dec. Total estimate for year: 12,649 lbs

13 CERCLA-cont. Many large CAFOs are emitting Ammonia, perhaps H2S, at levels which may subject them to CERCLA reporting requirements Penalties for non-compliance Up to $27,500 per day of non-compliance Statute of limitations is 5 years Does not apply to injunctive relief or continuing violations (where new harm arises from prohibited conduct)

14 Clean Air Act Clean Air Act Title I, Parts C (prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) for attainment areas) Title I, Parts D (new source review for nonattainment areas) Title V (operating permit for major sources) State implementation plan requirements (SIPs)

15 Clean Air Act-cont. Preconstruction requirements of Title I, Parts C, and Parts D: Major sources of air pollutants Facility that has potential to emit 250 tons per year or more of regulated pollutant (VOCs, H2S, PM) Applies to new facilities, or modification of existing facilities that will significantly increase emissions to major source levels

16 Clean Air Act-cont. Parts C: PSD for attainment areas Permit would require best available control technology (BACT) Parts D: New sources review for nonattainment areas Permit would require least achievable emissions rate (LAER)

17 Clean Air Act-cont. Title V of the CAA requires all operators of a major source to obtain a CAA operating permit Major source for Title V is generally defined as a facility with potential to emit 100 tons per year or more of any pollutant (PM10, VOCs, and H2S) For areas in serious non-attainment (e.g. southern California) the trigger is much lower than 100 tons per year. Operators required to pay annual per-ton fee

18 Clean Air Act-cont. State Implementation Plans All states have developed requirements in addition to major source requirements Sometimes referred to as minor source SIP requirements Triggering thresholds vary from state to state Trigger amount can be very small, as little as 5 tons per year of pollutant

19 Clean Air Act-cont. State implementation plans Requirements also vary but may include: Submission of annual emissions estimate preconstruction and operating permits Installation of control equipment

20 Clean Air Act-cont. SIP may also include prohibitions against exceedances of ambient air quality standards at the fence line of a facility For example: several state SIPs limit ambient air concentrations of H2S at the fence line

21 Clean Air Act-cont. Some very large CAFOs may be subject to CAA major source requirements, particularly in non-attainment areas Many large CAFOs may be subject to state SIP minor source requirements

22 Clean Air Act-cont. Clean Air Act-cont. Penalties for non-compliance Up to $27,500 per day of violation Injunctive relief Statute of Limitations is 5 years Does not apply to injunctive relief or continuing violations (where new harm arises from prohibited conduct)

23 Recent CAFO Cases Recent litigation based on CAFO emission to air Federal Premium Standard Farms Buckeye State ValAdCo 3 rd party Iowa Select

24 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Premium Standard Farms (Missouri) Citizen complaints/suit and consent agreement with state Consent Decree between EPA and PSF was lodged with federal District Court in Nov and Decree was entered May 2002 Civil settlement of numerous violation of multiple statutes/ civil penalty of $350,000 Settlement affects 11 major PSF finishers

25 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. PSF consent decree air requirements: Develop and install wastewater treatment system, which will reduce emission to air (H2S and ammonia) Measure air emissions to better quantify emissions and also verify emission reductions Apply for state air permits if measurement exceed regulatory thresholds Pilot oil misting system to reduce PM and Odor

26 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Buckeye Egg Farm (Ohio) Citizen complaints and state agreement (flies) EPA Region 5 investigation led to issuance of a notice of violation (NOV) and finding of violation (FOV) in Jan. 2001, based on failure to obtain construction and modification permits in violation of PSD requirements at two facilities Additionally, the NOV/FOV alleged a failure to obtain a Title V permit at one facility

27 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Buckeye Egg-cont. EPA simultaneously issued CAA section 114 information request to Buckeye requiring emission testing at three facilities Emission testing shows emissions above regulatory thresholds Oct. 10, 2002 EPA issues Unilateral Administrative Order requiring completion of emissions testing

28 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Buckeye Egg-cont. Company currently in negotiation with U.S Department of Justice Ohio Department of Agriculture in legal hearing process with Buckeye concerning operating permit

29 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. ValAdCo (Minnesota) Citizen complaints and state agreement July 2002 Minnesota Attorney General Office (AG) file suit on behalf of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for: Violations of 1999 state agreement Continued H2S violation Base on ambient fence line requirements Nuisance odors

30 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. ValAdCo-cont. December 17, 2002, MPCA, AGs office, ValAdCo and new owner, Christensen Family Farms sign consent decree, $125,000 penalty New owner will control H2S and odors Operate an air monitoring system during 2003/04 to ensure compliance with air quality standards Installation of covered and uncovered concrete tanks at six of seven ValAdCo sites Provide public notice prior to removal of solids

31 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Iowa Select Farms (Iowa) Four farm couples alleged Iowa Select facility diminished property values and created a nuisance citing: Odors Noxious gases Excessive flies

32 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Iowa Select Farms-cont. Action under state law/ Jury trial Standard for punitive damages award: willful and wanton disregard for the rights and safety of others Jury awards: $1.06 million in actual damages $32 million in punitive damages (reversed on appeal)

33 Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Recent CAFO Cases-cont. Wrap up: Cases taken to date include a combination of: CAA violations CERCLA 103 violations Violation of state SIP requirements Citizen suits

34 Goals Of A CAFO Enforcement Policy Goals Of CAFO Enforcement Policy Obtain data to develop emission factors and policies Get sources, particularly major sources into the permitting process

35 CAFO Enforcement Policy cont. CAFO Enforcement Policy Large farms would sign an enforcement agreement with EPA: agree to help finance emissions testing at a representative sample of farms to support development of emission factors agree to make their facilities available for testing Small farms are not covered by the policy but EPA will issue a statement that small facilities are a low priority

36 Outline Of CAFO Enforcement Policycont. CAFO Enforcement Policy-cont. No waiver given for: imminent and substantial endangerment criminal acts facilities already under investigation

37 CAFO Enforcement Policy-cont. CAFO Enforcement Policy-cont. No exemptions for agriculture in CERCLA or CAA- Information needs Traditional enforcement (CAA 114) Safe Harbor program