Agriculture

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Agriculture Air Policyin California
Summary prepared for the PA Ag Air Quality Task
Force Penn State Cooperative Extension Kristen
Saacke Blunk Extension Associate in Nutrient
Water Policy December 4, 2007
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Why look at Californias ag air policies?

• Clean Air Act requires states to adopt and
  implement State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
• Achieve air quality standards for the criteria
  air pollutants.
• Historically ag operations have been exempt
  from air quality regulations
• Including permitting.

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Why look at Californias ag air policies?

• Beginning in 2003 California has begun to
  impose permits on ag operations.
• Non-attainment areas struggling to meet deadlines
• Urban areas continuing to encroach on farming
  areas.
• California has set trends nationally for air
  emissions control strategies.
• Will other states follow suit?

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Source CA EPA Air Resources Board website
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A time table for change in California air policy
1990
2000
2010

• Ammonia as a PM10 Precursor
• Urbanization forced dairies to establish east of
  Los Angeles County.
• Emissions from vehicles industries ammonia
  emitted from dairies secondary aerosol
  particulate that contributed to peak PM10.
• Air Quality Plans Focused on ammonia emission
  reduction through BMPs for manure disposal
  requirements as strategy for PM10 attainment .

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A time table for change in California air policy

• PM10 Dust Rules
• South Coast Air Quality Management District
  (SCAQMD) placed PM10 dust rule on crop farms in
  the Coachella Valley (Greater Palm Springs desert
  vicinity)
• Required reduced or ceased tilling during high
  winds.

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A time table for change in California air policy

• PM10 Dust Rules
• SCAQMD amended the rule to require 2 to 5 BMPs
  implemented for the South Coast air basin. The
  menu of BMPs included
• High-wind tilling restrictions.
• Mulching
• Windbreaks
• Watering and stabilization of unpaved roads
  during harvest.

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Source CA EPA Air Resources Board website
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A time table for change in California air policy

• PM10 Dust Rules
• San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control
  District (SJVAPCD)
• Adopted Conservation Management Practices in one
  of the nations most productive ag areas.
• More detailed than the earlier BMPs and
  crop-specific.
• Farms required to submit CMP plan for approval.

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A time table for change in California air policy

• Ammonia as a PM10 Precursor
• SJVAPCD is awaiting results of CA Regional
  Particulate Air Quality Study to determine the
  role of ammonia reductions in meeting its PM10
  and PM2.5 standards.
• Study results reviewed in 2007 to better ID how
  urban emissions interact with rural emissions
  particulates formed by the interaction of
  nitrogen oxide and ammonia.

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Source CA EPA Air Resources Board website
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A time table for change in California air policy

• PM10 Dust Rules
• Imperial County
• Adopted San Joaquin Valley approach

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A time table for change in California air policy

• EPA approved Californias Title V program for
  major sources as identified by the CAA.
• California exempted agricultural emissions from
  permitting requirements.
• Environmental groups sued.

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A time table for change in California air policy

• California Senate Bill 700 which removed air
  permit exemptions from agriculture.
• SB 700 went beyond what EPA required following
  the lawsuit.

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California Senate Bill 700

• Defined agricultural sources in the law.
• Removed state restriction prohibiting air
  districts from permitting ag sources.
• Established specific permit exemption
  requirements for ag sources

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California Senate Bill 700

• Requires emission control regulations in PM10,
  non-attainment areas
• Requires permits and emissions mitigation for
  large confined animal facilities (LCAFs) and
• Requires that the CA Air Pollution Officers Assoc
  create a clearinghouse of info about ag source
  emission and mitigation strategies.

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California Senate Bill 700

• Air districts are responsible for adopting and
  implementing regs for farms.
• California Air Resources Boards is responsible
  for sponsorship of emission studies, impact,
  research.

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A time table for change in California air policy

• California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted its
  large confined animal facilities permitting
  thresholds.
• By June 2006 permitting rules must be in place
  in nonattainment areas.

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Large Confined Animal Facilities (LCAF)
Thresholds

• LIVESTOCK CATEGORY
• Dairy
• Beef Feedlots
• Other cattle operations
• Chickens Broilers
• Chickens Egg Layers
• Swine
• Horses

• NONATTAINMENT AREAS
• 1,000 milk producing cows
• 2,500 beef cattle
• 7,500 calves, heifers, other
• 650,000
• 650,000
• 3,000
• 2,500

ATTAINMENT AREAS 2,000 milk producing
cows 5,000 beef cattle 15,000 calves, heifers,
other 1,300,000 1,300,000 6,000 5,000
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Timeline for Federal Ag Air Quality Policy
Cure Period Ends 10/08
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Sources and Resources

• Abdalla, Charles W., Emerging Policy Issues
  Extension Inservice, Department of Agricultural
  Economics and Rural Sociology, Penn State
  University, June 2007
• Becker, John C., Air Emissions from Agricultural
  Enterprises A Review of Applicable Laws,
  Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural
  Sociology, Penn State University.
• Workshop on Agricultural Air Quality, State of
  the Science Proceedings, June 5-8, 2006, Potomac,
  MD
• Lester, J.C., The Evolution of Agricultural Air
  Quality Regulations ENVIRON International
  Corporation

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Sources and Resources, contd

• Conservation Management Practices adopted by the
  San Joaquin Valley Unified air Pollution Control
  District www.valleyair.org/farmpermits/updates/cmp
  _handbook.pdf
• California Air Pollution Officers Association
  www.capcoa.org/sb_700.htm
• California Air Resources Board www.arb.ca.gov/ag/r
  esearch/research.pdf
• UC Davis Cooperative Extension

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Discussion
Nutrient Water Policy Program Contact Dr.
Charles Abdalla Professor of Agricultural and
Environmental Economics Penn State Department of
Agricultural Economics Rural Sociology cabdalla_at_
psu.edu