FACT SHEET
Office of Wastewater Management
NPDES Regulations Governing Management
Of Concentrated Dairy Cattle Feeding Operations
NPDES and how it affects the maintenance and Why are some dairy cattle feeding operations
operation of concentrated dairy cattle feeding considered CAFOs. even though they are partially
operations. sheltered or temporarily housed?
NPDES stands for EPA's National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System. The NPDES program provides a
system for regulating the discharge of pollutants from
"point" (or discreet) sources into the waters of the
United States by allowing discharges only under
certainnditions specified by the permit. The NPDES
program was established under the Amendments to
the Clean Water Act(CWA) of 1972. Section 502 of the
Act defined "concentrated animal feeding operations"
(CAFOs) as point sources subject to regulation under
the Act. As a result, NPDES regulations were written
and published in 1976 defining CAFOs and the
conditions under which they are required to obtain an
NPDES permit.
What are dairy cattle CAFOs and how are they
defined!
Basically, CAFOs are animal feeding operations (AFO)
that meet or exceed numbers of animals (according to
species) established for animal feeding operations. A
facility is considered to be an animal feeding operation
if it stables, confines, feeds, or maintains animals for a
total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period, and
does not sustain crops, vegetation, forage growth, or
post-harvested residues in the normal growing season
over any portion of the facility. Dairy cattle feeding
operations are considered to be CAEQs if they meet
these two criteria and, in addition, house more than
700 mature dairy cattle.
Smaller dairy cattle feeding operations are also
considered to be CAFOs if they contain more than 200
mature dairy cattle AND discharge their wastes into
waters of the U.S. through man-made ditches, flushing
systems, or similar devices, OR discharge their wastes
directly into U.S. waters that originate outside the
facility and pass over, across, around, or through the
facility, or otherwise come into contact with the animals
confined. Areas of the CAFO may include watering
systems;, washing, cleaning, or flushing pens, and
manure stacks or pits. Areas where dust is produced
are included because the dust may be composed of
particles of manure, litter, or bedding and feedstuffs.
Two operations with the same owner are considered
one operation if they share a common border or have a
common waste disposal system (wastes are
commingled prior to discharge).
A totally enclosed facility with no discharge of wastes
to U.S. waters is not a CAFO. However, a partially-
sheltered facility IS a CAFO if it meets the size (number
of cattle) and discharge criteria of the NPDES
regulations, or if it has been designated a CAFO on a
case-by-case basis by the permitting authority. In
partially sheltered operations, the number of animals
maintained at the facility for 45 days or more is the
combined number of animals in open and sheltered
areas of the facility. The entire operation is considered
one unit, and all the cattle are counted for the purposes
of CAFO classification.
This is in contrast to the situation where an operation
has an enclosed facility and an open lot facility where
the two facilities are not adjoining and have separate
waste management systems. In facilities that use both
pasture and confined areas where the animals are
concentrated, the confined area may be a CAFO; the
pasture is not subject to NPDES regulations, and the
animals that remain at pasture would not be counted
for classification purposes.
For example, a dairy operation feeds 1,200 cows at
pasture throughout the year. The operation has a
holding area where the cows gather two times a day,
365 days a year before entering the milking barn. The
holding area has no vegetative growth. The holding
area is a CAFO and is covered by the NPDES
regulations.
Why the sudden concern for dairy cattle CAFOs?
Concern over CAFOs is not new; degradation of
ground and surface waters from nitrogen, phosphorus,
and pathogens has increased over the years, and has
renewed interests from the livestock industry, the
public, and regulatory agencies as well. EPA's NPDES
program provides a means of addressing the problem
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by regulating the discharge of pollutants from dairy
cattle CAFOs by permit. Page 2 lists some sources of
information you can obtain to help you understand and
interpret the NPDES regulations for dairy cattle CAFOs.
Information from the Code of Federal
Regulations and citations in the FEDERAL
REGISTER can help you understand the
NPDES regulations applicable to CAFOs:
• Criteria for Determining a Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operation, 40 CFR Section
122, Appendix B (1992); .
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,
40 CFR Section 122.23 (1992);
• EPA Effluent Guidelines and Standards for
Feedlots, 40 CFR 412 (Revised through July 1,
1991);
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System and State Program Elements Necessary
for Participation: Concentrated Animal
Feeding Operations, 40 CFR 54182 (Nov. 20,
1975);
• State Program Elements Necessary for
Participation in the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System: Concentrated Animal
Feeding Operations, 41 FR 11458 (Mar. 18,
1976);
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System General Permit Requirements for
Discharges from Concentrated Animal
Feeding Operations (Region 6 Final Notice),
58 FR 7610 (Feb. 8,1993).
In addition to these publications, don't forget to request
EPA's Guidance Manual on NPDES Regulations for
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (EPA 833-B-95-
001; December, 1995), and EPA's other new Factsheets
on general application of NPDES regulations to CAFOs,
as well as species-specific Factsheets for other animal
industries.
FOR MORE INFORMATION. CONTACT:
Where Can I Go For More Information?
Additional information on NPDES regulations affecting
CAFOs can be obtained by contacting the Permits
Branch in your nearest EPA Regional Office:
EPA Region I (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
JFK Federal Building, Boston, MA 02203
(617) 565-4940)
EPA Region II (NJ, NY, PR, VI)
26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278
(212) 264-9894
EPA Region III (DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV)
841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 597-9078
EPA Region IV (AL,FL,GA,KY, MS, NC,SC,
TN)
345 Courtland Street, ME, Atlanta, GA 30365
(404) 347-2019
» EPA Region V(IL,.IN, MI, OH, MN,.WI)
230 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604-3507
(312) 353-2079
EPA Region VI (AR, LA, OK, NM, TX)
1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 655-7171
EPA Region VH (IA, KS, MO, NE)
726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66101
(913) 551-7034
EPA Region VIH (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY)
99918th Street, Denver, CO 80202-2413
(303) 293-1623
EPA Region IX (AS, AZ, CA, CML GU, HI, NV)
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 744-1877
EPA Region X (AK, ID, OR, WA)
1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 553-1728
Permitting:
Office of Wastewater Management
Permits Division (4203)
U.S. EPA
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 260-9537/FAX (202) 260-1460
Nonpoint Source:
Office of Wetlands, Oceans
and Watersheds
U.S. EPA
Fairchild Bldg.
499 South Capitol Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
(202) 260-7040/FAX (202) 260-7024
Compliance/Enforcement
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
U.S. EPA
Ariel Rios Bldg.
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20044
(202) 564-2280/FAX (202) 5644028
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