The National Pork Producers (NPPC) Council has filed comments on proposed rules by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on particulate matter that could impose stringent new Clean Air Act requirements on hog operations.

Particulate matter includes dust from roads and fields.

NPPC is asking the EPA to delay its rule until after the completion of an air monitoring study, part of the agency’s air consent agreement, that many producers signed.

“Substantial concern still remains about the health effects of ambient particulate matter, a major component of the air pollution mix in many areas of the country,” according to EPA.