On February 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit issued a stay delaying the implementation of a rule that will require farmers to estimate and report emissions from animal waste. Farmers will now have until at least May 1, 2018 before they are required to report their emissions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Last April, the D.C. Circuit invalidated a rule that exempted livestock operations from reporting emissions of more than 100 pounds per day of either ammonia or hydrogen sulfide under CERCLA. Prior to the court’s decision, only animal feeding operations that qualified as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, were required to report under the emissions reporting rule. Following the effective date of the new rule, an estimated 63,000 small- and medium-sized farms will also be required to estimate and report their emissions.

This is the third stay that the D.C. Circuit has issued at EPA’s request. EPA needs the additional time to inform farmers about the pending rule, provide guidance on calculating emissions, and finalize a reporting form specifically tailored to farmers. It is especially important that farmers understand their obligations under this new rule because, once the court issues the mandate, farmers that fail to report could face fines and suits from citizen groups alleging noncompliance.