COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension specialist Teng Lim advises poultry and livestock producers to be aware of a Nov. 15 deadline that could affect their operations.

Producers need to notify public agencies if their poultry and livestock facilities emit (air release) more than 100 pounds of ammonia or hydrogen sulfide daily, says Lim, an agricultural engineering specialist. The facility owner or operator can notify the National Response Center at 800-424-8802 or NRC-CERCLA-EPCRA-REPORT@uscg.mil.

The Environmental Protection Agency is enforcing an existing reporting rule on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The deadline results from an appeals court ruling that requires EPA to enforce the existing reporting rule. The decision does not affect a related rule, the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, which is triggered by similar emissions values.

EPA has asked the appeals court to reconsider enforcement of the deadline, but at this time the rule is set to go into effect, Lim says. The best plan is to prepare, and MU Extension specialists are available to help advise producers, he says.

According to Lim, ammonia emission will be the greater value triggering reporting. For example, based on ammonia emission, farm sizes likely to emit 100 pounds of ammonia daily are 1430-hd dairy, 1,020-breeding gestation on sow farm, 1,818-hd grow-finish pigs, 26,240-broiler, 28,200-layer or larger operations. University of Illinois Extension specialists devised a table of animal numbers that can help producers decide if they fall within the mandatory reporting guidelines.

Lim urges farmers to review their operations and the rules and be prepared to make the mandatory reports. He says the reporting requirements can be met by making a phone call and follow-up report within 30 days. If a farm participated in the EPA’s AFO Air Compliance Agreement in 2008, they are exempt from the Nov. 15 deadline.

For more information, go to epa.gov/epcra/cercla-and-epcra-reporting-requirements-air-releases-hazardous-substances-animal-waste-farms.

For compliance assistance, call the EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at 800-424-9346. For more information, you may also contact MU Extension specialists Teng Lim at 573-882-9519 or limt@missouri.edu, and Joe Zulovich at 573-882-0868 or zulovichj@missouri.edu.