Stop Factory Farms From Polluting Our Air

If you can believe it, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t require factory farms to report or reduce their air pollution! The reason? A 20-year-old agreement secretly negotiated with Big Ag called the Air Consent Agreement. Through this agreement, EPA stopped enforcing key air pollution and public disclosure laws against any factory farm that agreed to pay a small fee to fund a nationwide air monitoring program. The agreement was then signed by over 14,000 factory farm operations!

The agreement was set to end over 15 years ago, but it is still in effect today. Because of EPA’s inaction, thousands of the nation’s largest factory farms continue to enjoy a free pass to pollute, even if their emissions exceed limits or reporting thresholds. 

Center for Food Safety and our allies have worked for years to hold factory farms accountable and to push EPA to take action to end this agreement, but we can’t afford to wait any longer.  

Now we need to overwhelm EPA with messages demanding they end the Air Consent Agreement and do their job of protecting our air, water, and communities from factory farm pollution. Will you add your name today?

Who's signing

Petition to EPA:

I am a member of the Center for Food Safety who is extremely concerned that the 2005 Air Consent Agreement for Animal Feeding Operations is still in operation despite a listed completion date of 2010. I urge the agency to immediately rescind the Air Consent Agreement and prioritize enforcement actions against animal feeding operations (AFO) contributing to air pollution and related health impacts.

Over twenty years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) negotiated the Air Consent Agreement and Final Order, refraining from enforcing key air pollution control and public disclosure laws against any AFO that agreed to pay a nominal penalty to fund a nationwide air monitoring program to establish Emission Estimating Methodologies (EEMs) for AFOs. Yet, EPA has yet to finalize any EEMs or end the Air Consent Agreement. As a result of EPA’s protracted delay, thousands of the nation’s largest AFOs continue to enjoy protection from EPA enforcement actions, even if their emissions exceed permit limits or reporting thresholds. EPA’s implementation of the Air Consent Agreement demonstrates a complete, bipartisan abdication of EPA’s enforcement authority.

Air pollution is the largest environmental mortality risk factor in the United States, and agriculture—particularly industrial animal production—is a major contributor to reduced air quality. Air pollution from U.S. agriculture includes direct emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and PM2.5 precursors such as ammonia (NH3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This pollution causes 17,900 U.S. deaths per year, with 15,900 deaths from food production. Of the 15,900 deaths from food production, 80 percent, or 12,700 deaths, are attributable to industrial animal production.

Our government has the duty and authority to protect the health and well-being of our communities by enforcing federal air pollution laws. Factory farms cannot be given a free pass to pollute any longer.

Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.

Will you add your name?