New Report: California’s manure biogas subsidies are devastating local communities
In three weeks, California can end support for a climate policy driving environmental injusticeWASHINGTON — Today, Friends of the Earth U.S., Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, and Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability published A Brown Cloud Over the Golden State: How Dairy Digesters Are Driving CAFO Expansion and Environmental Injustice in California, a report documenting the devastating public health and environmental impacts of factory farm gas produced by mega-dairies. The study criticizes California’s misguided policy approach to manure biogas just before the California Air Resources Board’s November 8 vote on amendments that could further entrench this greenwashing technology in its Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
The report focuses on Tulare County, home of one third of California’s dairy cows and 11% of U.S. manure digesters, detailing how manure biogas production, which occurs primarily on industrial livestock operations—also known as factory farms, or concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)—harms local communities by exacerbating air and water pollution. The case study also addresses environmental injustice, noting that in Tulare County, a predominantly Hispanic/Latine (67%) community with 18% of residents living in poverty, manure biogas exacerbates the damages from factory farms in a vulnerable community. Across California, people of color, Latine, and Native American residents are significantly more likely to reside closer to CAFOs—and the pollution they cause.
This report builds on previous research by Friends of the Earth and Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, which suggests that manure digesters incentivize the most hazardous manure management practices as well as herd size expansion and yield much lower methane emissions reductions than estimated by both the federal government and California.
“Industry consolidation and dairy-driven air and water pollution in Tulare County are worsened by the state’s extensive subsidies for manure biogas,” said Molly Armus, animal agriculture policy program manager, Friends of the Earth U.S. “We urge Governor Newsom and the California Air Resources Board to prioritize Central Valley communities and stop giving public handouts to some of the state’s largest polluters.”
“The climate crisis demands urgent action,” said Chris Hunt, deputy director, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project. “But we need to fund efficient solutions rather than squander public resources on factory farm gas, which yields dubious methane reductions while exacerbating environmental injustice in communities already overburdened with pollution.”
“Profit incentives associated with producing factory farm gas in California entrench and intensify harmful farming practices. The more manure produced, the more cows, the more water degradation, water depletion, and air and climate pollution—all in the already disproportionately impacted communities of color in the San Joaquin Valley,” said Leslie Martinez, community engagement specialist, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “The California Air Resources Board has an opportunity to correct course with changes to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Instead, staff continue to prioritize profit certainty for investors over the health of people who live near the largest dairies in the state.”
Key Findings:
- Environmental injustice. Across the U.S., CAFO pollution disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. In Tulare County, the majority (51%) of dairy CAFOs threaten water quality in this predominantly Hispanic/Latine community. Tulare County is the fourth most ozone-polluted county in the S. and the second most polluted in terms of year-round particle pollution. A 2021 study found that pollution from livestock waste causes 1,700 premature deaths each year in the Central Valley, primarily due to ammonia emissions and PM2.5.
- Unbridled growth of manure biogas production. Tulare County is home to 49 digesters—11% of all U.S. manure digesters. California touts digesters as the solution to livestock methane emissions, despite opposition from communities concerned that digesters worsen local pollution: One study found that digestion increases ammonia emissions by 81%; another found that burning biogas is 10 times more toxic to human health than natural gas.
- Inconsistent data. Multiple CAFOs in Tulare County reported different herd sizes across county, federal, state, and LCFS records. Herd size numbers from these sources are self-reported, reinforcing the need for third-party verification of herd sizes and methane emissions monitoring to accurately assess impacts of manure biogas policies on methane emissions, industry consolidation, and nearby communities.
Policy Recommendations:
- Reform California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to eliminate credits for manure biogas;
- Redirect climate funds to more effective methane reduction solutions that don’t exacerbate pollution, public health threats, and industry consolidation;
- Protect public health and the environment by more effectively regulating waste from CAFOs and digesters; and
- Require independently verified herd-size data from CAFOs.
On November 8, the California Air Resources Board will vote on a proposal that would sustain lucrative subsidies for manure biogas despite extensive opposition from community members.
Communications contact: Sam Nurick, [email protected]