The Environmental Protection Agency intends to exempt farms from having to report emissions of ammonia and other air pollutants under the federal Superfund law, said Jon Scholl, the agency's agriculture adviser. The agency also will clarify that manure should not be considered a hazardous waste when properly used as fertilizer, he said.

Scholl, who outlined the agency's plans at a livestock industry meeting Tuesday, said the agency wants to finalize the actions by fall 2008, shortly before President Bush leaves office.

The Superfund law was enacted in 1980 to force polluters to report toxic emissions and clean up contamination they cause. "Superfund is an act that is intended to identify where there are emergencies and to have an emergency response," Scholl said. "We don't think the nature of emissions from agricultural operations fit that."

The livestock industry has been unsuccessfully pushing Congress for an exemption to the reporting rule since a 2003 court ruling that Tyson Foods Inc. was required to disclose emissions from contract chicken operations.

Source: DesMoinesRegister.com