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On Aug. 7, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia upheld a 2019 EPA Rule that exempted air emissions from animal waste at farms from select reporting requirements subject to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). EPCRA reporting requirements are tied closely to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) reporting requirements. Both CERCLA and EPCRA include reporting requirements for releases of hazardous substances to the environment.

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In 2018, Congress amended CERCLA’s reporting requirements to exempt air emissions from animal wastes. EPA then incorporated this exemption into EPCRA’s emergency notification requirements (the 2019 Rule).

In Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help, et al., v. US EPA et al., and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, et. al., the plaintiff environmental organizations challenged EPA’s reporting exemption in the 2019 Rule as a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and National Environmental Policy Act. Plaintiffs claimed, among other things, that EPA failed to consider the environmental impacts that would result from excluding these air emissions from EPCRA reporting requirements.

The Court held that the 2019 Rule accurately reflected the statutory requirements for when a source is subject to reporting under EPCRA. EPCRA’s emergency notification reporting requirements are tied to whether CERCLA requires a release be reported. If CERCLA requires reporting, EPCRA requires reporting, and the inverse is true. Because CERCLA no longer required air emissions from animal wastes be reported with the 2018 amendment, the 2019 Rule validly incorporated that exemption into EPCRA’s emergency notification requirements.

The Court held that EPA’s 2019 Rule – interpreting an EPCRA reporting exemption for air emissions from animal waste – aligned with EPCRA requirements because those emissions occur in a manner exempt from notification under CERCLA. CERCLA reporting did not extend to air emissions from animal waste because those releases did not occur in a manner that required notification (e.g., the releases were continuous and thus did not require reporting). The Court determined that the 2019 Rule was thus consistent in excluding animal waste air emissions from reporting.

This decision affirms EPA’s 2019 Rule exempting air emissions from animal waste at farms from EPCRA emergency notification requirements. Consequently, air emissions from animal waste are neither subject to CERCLA nor EPCRA reporting, and EPA was not required to consider environmental impacts from this exemption.

This decision will eliminate emergency notification requirements for concentrated animal feeding operations previously subject to these reporting requirements with respect to air emissions from animal wastes. For questions regarding how this may impact your business, please contact your Michael Best attorney or a member of our team listed on this alert.

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Dense green forest overlaid with a grid pattern and translucent colored squares.

Federal Court Upholds EPA Rule Exempting Animal Waste Air Emissions from EPCRA Emergency Reporting

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