WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D.ND., said Friday that the government funding bill signed into law contains her bipartisan bill to exempt farmers, ranchers, and livestock markets from burdensome reporting requirements for animal waste emissions.

“North Dakotans were right to be skeptical of regulations for ‘livestock emissions’ – which is just Washington speak for cow patties – and the last thing farmers and ranchers need is another rule to comply with while they’re facing low commodity prices and drought,” Heitkamp said. “After hearing from farmers and ranchers about the burdensome impact these regulations would have, I worked in a bipartisan way to exempt them from this unnecessary EPA reporting requirement.”

Last month, Heitkamp joined a bipartisan coalition in helping introduce The Fair Agricultural Reporting Method (FARM) Act that makes the requirement change.

The original bill, she said, was enacted to address dangerous industrial pollution, chemical plant explosions, and the release of hazardous materials into the environment – not animal waste. Despite the intention of the law, a 2017 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision potentially broadened the scope of that law beyond its originally intended purpose, creating confusion and uncertainty for farmers and livestock producers, she said.