A coalition of 34 environmental groups on Jan. 14 filed a rulemaking petition with the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service to make certain anaerobic digestion projects ineligible to receive grants or loans under the Rural Energy for America Program. In conjunction with the petition, Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit on behalf of petitions Friends of the Earth seeking an immediate release of public records regarding the agency’s decision to fund manure digesters using REAP dollars.&nbsp;The petition filed with the USDA specifically asks the agency to deem anaerobic digesters that are located at industrial livestock operations or that use livestock manure as ineligible for the REAP program.&nbsp;REAP was formally established by the 2008 Farm Bill and was reauthorized in 2014 and 2018. The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Renewable biomass, including anaerobic digesters and biogas, wind, solar, small hydro-electric, ocean, geothermal, or hydrogen derived from any of those sources are among the renewable energy sources originally eligible for the program. The USDA in August 2025 implemented changes to the REAP program make solar projects on productive farmland ineligible for REAP funds. Projects utilizing solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries are also no longer eligible for REAP funding.&nbsp;Environmental groups are now asking the USDA to make additional changes to REAP eligibility. In the petition the groups claim that manure digesters fail to provide environmental and public health benefits. The groups advocate for reallocating funding spent on manure digester projects to other forms or renewable energy, primarily solar.&nbsp;The claims included in the petition run contrary to data and information provided by U.S. federal agencies, including the USDA and U.S. EPA.The USDA Economic Research Service in mid-2025 published information stating that manure digesters can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure storage and handling, while improving water quality and providing a new energy source.&nbsp;Similarly, the EPA states that manure digesters can help agriculture producers reduce methane emissions while also minimizing odors and pathogens, and generating products for on-farm use, such as animal bedding and high-quality fertilizer.&nbsp;A full copy of the petition is available on the Friends of the Earth <a href="https://foe.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-01-14-REAP-Digester-Petition_FINAL.pdf">website</a>.

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A coalition of 34 environmental groups on Jan. 14 filed a rulemaking petition with the USDA to make manure anaerobic digestion projects ineligible to receive grants or loans under the Rural Energy for America Program. 

Environmental groups ask USDA to make manure digester projects ineligible for REAP

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