⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Real court arguments, crisp audio, with context.

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Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help v. EPA — D.C. Cir. (Nov 3, 2026)

No. 25-5354 Argued November 3, 2026 Published November 4, 2026

We hear the D.C. Circuit in Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help versus the Environmental Protection Agency. The dispute concerns air emissions from farm animal waste, including ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, and whether farms must notify state and local officials about hazardous releases. In 2018, Congress exempted those air emissions from federal reporting under CERCLA, the federal Superfund law. EPA followed in 2019 by exempting them from emergency reporting under EPCRA, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Environmental groups challenged that rule, saying it cut off nearby communities' access to information about hazardous releases. The district court upheld it, reasoning that Congress had exempted a manner of release that also falls outside EPCRA's reporting requirement. The groups appeal. The question is what the words occurs in a manner mean: does releasing chemicals into the air from animal waste at a farm describe how a release happens, or merely its source and location? The dispute is about reporting obligations, not permission to pollute.

Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help v. EPA (No. 25-5354) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, argued November 3, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — official D.C. Circuit recording (judge's final closing word may be clipped; all argument included):https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/docs/2026/11/25-5354.mp3
Case, argument date and advocates — official D.C. Circuit recording index:https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/recordings/bydate/2026/11
Background and prior ruling — district court memorandum opinion, August 7, 2025:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_18-cv-02260/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_18-cv-02260-1.pdf
Agency action — EPA final rule, June 13, 2019 (84 FR 27533):https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-06-13/pdf/2019-12411.pdf

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