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.

-------
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

-------
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 storm—the 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

-------
  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

-------