Dairy air debate centers on nearly decade-old report

Proponents of legislation requiring new air regulations for Oregon dairies, Senate Bill 197, claim it merely implements recommendations from the 2008 Dairy Air Task Force, which was composed of agricultural and environmental representatives, among others. Critics of the proposal argue the 2008 report didn’t actually require any action and that emissions from dairies still aren’t significant enough to justify new rule-making. Lawmakers created the task force in 2007 as part of broader legislation aimed at clearing up inconsistencies in state and federal law regarding Clean Air Act requirements for agriculture. The task force issued a report the following year recommending that Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission develop rules for a dairy air emissions program, which would initially be voluntary but become mandatory in 2015.