**Lathem Farms, Inc**.

**1236 Wayne Poultry Rd.**

**Pendergrass, GA 30567**

Phone: (706) 693-4336 / Fax: (706)693-4589

Ms. Lynn Beasley

Superfund Docket

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency

Mail Code 2822T

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20460

EMAIL: <superfund.docket@epa.gov>

RE: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2007-0469

> CERCLA/EPCRA Administrative Reporting Exemption for Air Releases of
> Hazardous Substances From Animal Waste

Dear Ms. Beasley:

I am writing in response to EPA's request for comments on the proposal
to exempt livestock and poultry operations from the CERCLA/EPCRA air
emissions reporting requirement.

I am an egg producer in Georgia. My egg farm is designed and operated to
make possible the sound and responsible management of the manure that my
hens produce so as to protect the environment. We are committed to
making sure that happens. A great deal of time and cost is associated
with the responsible stewardship of that manure, and I appreciate any
effort to do away with unnecessary or valueless reporting requirements
that do not contribute to meeting that goal. Protecting water and air
quality are critically important objectives, and I take our
responsibilities in this regard seriously. But reporting our ammonia
emissions to the Coast Guard's National Response Center only fosters
sentiments that the federal government does not itself take seriously
the real issues of manure management and the resources that are to be
protected. That is why I support your proposal to do away with this
reporting under CERCLA/EPCRA, and I urge EPA to move forward with the
final adoption of this proposal.

My trade association, the United Egg Producers, is submitting more
detailed comments about this proposal. I want to associate myself with
those comments and lend support to their conclusions. I note,
especially, the following observations for your consideration.

-   **[No emergency health threats]{.underline}**---The ammonia produced
    from the manure generated by our hens does not represent an
    emergency health threat to the general public. As such, I fully
    agree with the EPA finding that there will never be a local or state
    emergency response needed or called for as a result of our emissions
    of ammonia.

-   **[No chronic health threats]{.underline}***---*None of the
    information and research that I am aware of indicates there are
    chronic health threats to the general public from the ammonia
    produced by my layers. I understand that under the Clean Air Act,
    EPA and the states are considering the role of ammonia in smog
    formation in certain parts of the country, and pending the outcome
    of that work our operations may be subject to emission reduction
    requirements under that Act. Good science will help us answer those
    questions, and we will abide by those findings and take the steps
    called for to address any issues found. But certainly the Clean Air
    Act is the proper statute to address such issues and questions and
    the emergency reporting requirements of CERCLA are not.

-   **[No "community right to know" issues]{.underline}**---I believe
    that any concerns that the community does not know where our
    operations are located and what we are emitting to be unfounded.
    Those in our communities know where we are, and the county-level
    data published by USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service
    make it clear just how many laying hens there are in a particular
    county. And as to what we emit, there is no lack of publicly
    available science and information to anyone that cares to look. Our
    hens' manure produces ammonia as the manure decomposes once it is
    excreted; there is no mystery or lack of knowledge in this regard.
    CERCLA/EPCRA reporting does not add in any meaningful way to this
    knowledge base.

-   **[CERCLA/EPCRA authorities still apply where
    needed]{.underline}**---As EPA makes clear in its proposal, EPA does
    not need these reports or the related authorities to act to protect
    human health and the environment under CERCLA/EPCRA where needed.

-   **[CERCLA/EPCRA reporting is legitimate
    burden]{.underline}**---Without question, requiring us to report
    under federal law to the National Coast Guard as well as state and
    local emergency response authorities creates real and significant
    burdens. The burden comes from the fact that, despite the good
    science being developed under the National Air Emissions Monitoring
    Study, reports on the quantity of ammonia emitted from our farm will
    never be better than an estimate. There are simply far too many
    variables governing the actual amount to have the reported figure be
    precisely correct. As is the case with all estimates, you can
    guarantee that the number reported will be different from the
    actual. We are deeply concerned with the liabilities created in
    these circumstances. While we know how we will defend ourselves
    against claims that our reported levels are wrong, how much will it
    cost to defend ourselves and what happens if the authorities don't
    agree? A federal reporting requirement is a serious obligation, and
    we will need to expend the time and resources to submit estimates
    that are as correct as possible. But even with such efforts, we face
    liabilities and as such these reporting requirements do create real
    burdens to be taken seriously.

Given the current difficulty in estimating our releases, the fact that
this exemption is narrow and reasonable and lets no one "off the hook",
and the likelihood that EPA, the Coast Guard and National Response
Center, as well as state and local emergency responders would not
respond to a farm's release report, I support approval of EPA's proposal
to exempt livestock and poultry operations from the CERCLA/EPCRA air
emissions reporting requirement.

Sincerely,

David Lathem

Lathem Farms, Inc.