News

CAFOs may have to report hydrogen sulfide emissions

The EPA says it is considering requiring industrial facilities, including concentrated animal feeding operations, to report releases of hydrogen sulfide.

The agency says the agent is harmful to human health and the environment and must be reported to the Toxics Release Inventory under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

The reporting requirement could lead to stricter regulations on hydrogen sulfide under the Clean Air Act, including a mandate that facilities adopt new emissions mitigation technologies.

The National Pork Producers Council has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Wisconsin. It challenges an EPA rule requiring some pork producers to report air emissions from their farms under EPCRA, which has an exemption for agriculture.  NPPC contends EPA has failed to set up an adequate system to take emissions reports from producers.