SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
& Compliance Assurance
Washington, DC 20460
EPA 305-F-99-007
Mav 1999
www.epa.grov
Air-if-«nr^^T
g Center
He/ping Agriculture Comply with
Environmental Requirements
FOCUS ON
CAFO Permit Requirements-
Poultry
This fact sheet will help you understand why your poultry feeding operation may need a
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and what parts of your
operation might be subject to these special requirements to protect water quality.
Feeding operations may require
permits
If you have a poultry feeding operation
that may discharge manure into surface
water or groundwater, you may need to
obtain an NPDES permit and meet
certain requirements for the protection
of water quality. The federal laws
discussed in this fact sheet define the
types of operations that are regulated in
this way. Many states also have their
own regulations, which may be more
stringent.
Why is regulation necessary?
Animal feeding operations (AFOs) are a
significant source of groundwater and
surface water pollution because of high
levels of nitrates and phosphorus,
harmful bacteria, and salt found in
manure. These pollutants pose a health
risk to humans and animals, increase the
cost of safe drinking water, and may
mean that the contaminated surface
water cannot support recreation,
provide a healthy aquatic environment,
or meet Clean Water Act requirements.
How do animal feeding
operations contaminate water
sources?
Manure from AFOs can pollute sources
of drinking water by moving into surface
water after being applied to land, or by
leaching into groundwater. During
periods of heavy precipitation, manure
management systems (lagoons, ponds,
etc.) may overflow and spill wastewater
into nearby waterways such as rivers,
lakes, and streams.
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If your operation
houses more than
one type of animal,
see the Ag Center
fact sheet "Focus
on CAFO Permit
Requirements
General" to learn
/iou> EPA uses
"animal units" to
determine CAFO
Is my facility an AFO or a CAFO?
Federal government rules are based, in
part, on whether a facility meets the
definitions of Animal Feeding
Operations (AFOs) and Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
Generally, your poultry feeding
operation is defined as an AFO under
federal regulations if
birds have been, are, or will be
housed or confined, and fed or
maintained, for a total of 45 days or
more in any 12-month period, and
crops, vegetation forage growth, or
post-harvest residues are not
sustained during the normal growing
season over any part of the facility.
A CAFO is a specific type of AFO that
has the potential to contaminate nearby
waterways. A poultry AFO is a CAFO
under federal regulations if
(1) it houses more than
55,000 turkeys,
100,000 laying hens or broilers
on a continuous watering
system,
30,000 laying hens or broilers on
a liquid manure system, or
5,000 ducks
OR
(2) it houses more than 16,500 turkeys;
30,000 laying hens or broilers on a
The term waters of the United
States, also called navigable waters
in this regulation, means any surface
waterways in or surrounding the
United States, including not only rivers
and lakes, but also ditches, streams,
wetlands, or drainages that empty into
or are adjacent to any tributary of a
body of water. Groundwater that has
a direct connection to surface water is
also included in the definition.
continuous watering system; 9,000
laying hens or broilers on a liquid
manure system; or 1,500 ducks
AND
it discharges pollutants into waters
of the United States (either directly
into on-site water, or indirectly by
channeling wastes through a ditch,
flushing system, or other device)
OR
(3) EPA has designated it as a CAFO
upon determining that the
operation, regardless of its size, is a
significant source of pollution. This
determination, which considers a
number of factors (such as slope,
vegetation, and the proximity of the
operation to the waters), is based
on an on-site inspection by the
agency that issues the permits.
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Animal Agriculture/Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
CAFO Permit Requirements-Poultry
Page 2
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In some states,
NPDES permits are
issued by the state
government rather
than by EPA; in other
states, a facility may
be subject to both a
federal NPDES
permit and a state-
issued permit.
Exception: A facility will not be
considered a CAFO if it discharges
pollutants only in the event of a 25-
year, 24-hour stormthe number of
inches of rainfall in a 24-hour
period that is expected to occur only
once every 25 years, a figure that is
published for every location in the
United States by the National
Weather Service,
Other CAFO criteria
You should also know that
Two operations with the same
owner are considered one operation
if they share a common border or
have a common waste disposal area
or system.
Birds housed in separate units on
one facility are all considered part
of the same operation and are
counted together for purposes of
CAFO classification.
A totally enclosed facility with no
discharge of wastes is not a CAFO.
But a partially sheltered facility
that otherwise meets the criteria will
be considered a CAFO. Sheltered
and unsheltered birds are counted .
equally, and the entire operation is
considered one unit.
Obtaining a permit
A CAFO is not allowed to discharge
pollutants to waters of the United States
unless it has obtained a federal permit
for the discharge. The permit, which
EPA issues under the authority of the
Clean Water Act, is called a National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit. Violators are subject
to fines and penalties.
Operations that require a permit include
not only those that meet the standard
definition of a CAFO, but also any
smaller operations whose potential for
point-source pollution has caused them
to be designated as CAFOs on the basis
of on-site inspection.
What areas of a poultry facility
are regulated?
NPDES permit restrictions apply, for
example, to areas such as poultry
watering systems; washing, cleaning, or
flushing pens; and manure stacks or pits.
Areas where dust is produced are also
included, because the dust may contain
particles of manure, litter, bedding, and
feedstuffs.
What does an NPDES permit
require?
EPA's NPDES permits for CAFOs may
include requirements for:
eliminating the discharge of animal
wastes to U.S. waters
providing a retention structure for
animal wastes (including
specifications on construction
maintenance, and operation)
periodic reporting of water quality
monitoring results
proper land application of wastes
best-management practices
pollution prevention plans.
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Pages
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Animal Agriculture
Concentrated Animal Feeding
Rainfall that could
cause overflow leading
to water contamina-
tion cannot always be
ttredicted. The key to
compliance is the
proper design,
continual mainte-
nance, and correct
Ojfwrat/ono/tne
manure management
system.
When is a discharge from a
CAFO not a violation of the
Clean Water Act?
A large poultry operation that has been
designated as a CAFO [see (1) above
under "Is My Facility an AFO or a
CAFO?"] will not be in violation of the
Clean Water Act for an overflow
discharge resulting from catastrophic or
chronic rainfall events, as long as the
operator has
obtained an NPDES permit, and
properly designed, constructed, and
operated a containment-system
capable of handling all the facility's
process-generated waste waters plus
the runoff from a 25-year/24-hour
storm.
The rainfall events included in this
exception are
catastrophic events-including
tornados, hurricanes, and 25-
year/24-hour storms
chronic rainfall-a series of wet
weather conditions that prevent
waste removal from properly
maintained waste retention
structures.
You can get more facts about
compliance by calling the Ag Center's
toll-free number. Materials can be sent
to you by fax or by mail, or you can talk
to an Ag Center representative. For a
list-ofall publications available from the
Ag Center, request document number
10001, "Ag Center Publications."
The Ag Center welcomes comments on
this document and its other services.
National Agriculture Compliance
Assistance Center
901 N. 5th St.
Kansas City, KS 66101
Toll-free: I-888-663-2155
Internet: www.epa.gov/oeca/ag
Fax: 913-551-7270
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Permits for smaller CAFOs generally
also provide these protections to permit
holders.
For more information
This fact-sheet is only a general
description of EPA's rules and
regulations on poultry CAFOs. For
more specific information about how
EPA or state requirements may apply to
your facility, consult the applicable
regulations directly, or contact your
EPA regional office or state government.
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Page 4
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