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US regulator abandons effort to measure factory farm air pollution
The US Environmental Protection Agency has ended its effort to develop methods for measuring air pollution from large livestock farms, leaving a long-running route towards Clean Air Act enforcement unresolved. The decision matters because these facilities emit pollutants linked to serious health effects, while critics say the agency is giving up on holding them accountable.
The EPA said data from a study conducted under a 2005 agreement with the livestock industry are now too old and limited to support reliable methods. The agreement gave thousands of farms protection from legal action while the study sought ways to estimate emissions, but the agency never produced those methods; its inspector general criticised delays in 2017. The article says livestock operations emit fine particles and several gases, and cites research estimating they contribute to nearly 12,700 US deaths a year.
In short
- EPA has abandoned plans to create factory farm air pollution measurement methods.
- A 2005 industry-backed study produced no usable methods.
- Critics say the move weakens Clean Air Act accountability.
Explained simply
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal body responsible for enforcing laws that limit air pollution. Large livestock farms can release fine particles and gases, but measuring how much comes from each farm is difficult; estimates can matter when deciding whether air-quality rules apply.
In 2005, the EPA made an agreement with the livestock industry while it studied how to estimate emissions from farms. Thousands of farms received temporary protection from legal action under the agreement, which was meant to help develop measurement methods. The effort did not produce those methods, and the agency’s inspector general criticised delays in 2017.
The Clean Air Act is the main US law governing air pollution, and reliable measurements can help determine how it applies to farm emissions. Research cited in the story estimates that pollution from livestock operations contributes to nearly 12,700 deaths a year in the US, making the question of how to assess and regulate it a public-health issue.
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Originally published by Ars Technica as “EPA throws in the towel on policing air pollution from factory farms”.