&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
Washington DC 20460
EPA833-F-00-016
March 2001
Proposed Regulations to Address Water Pollution
from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
Beef Cattle on a Feedlot
Pollutants from
agricultural sources,
such as pesticides,
fertilizers, and eroded
soil, are the most
common types of
contaminants found
in U.S. rivers and
streams. Manure,
dead animals, and
other waste from
livestock operations
may also contribute to
this pollution.
Dairy Cattle Operation
Source: Kurt Boos, USEPA
Swine Operation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
regulations to reduce the amount of water pollution from large
livestock operations. Revisions to current Clean Water Act
permit requirements and effluent guidelines for as many as
39,000 concentrated animal feeding operations, or "CAFOs,"
will address water quality concerns relevant to livestock industries.
This proposal will update regulations that are more than 20 years
old and will result in more effective, nationally consistent
regulations to protect water resources.
Source: USDA Online Photo Center
Why does EPA want to change the NPDES regulations and effluent
guidelines for CAFOs?
According to the 1998 National Water Quality Inventory, which reported on assessments of 32 percent of the
Nation's waters, 40 percent of assessed waters are impaired. In that report, agriculture is identified among the
sources contributing to impairment in 60 percent of the impaired rivers and streams and 30 percent of the
impaired lakes. In the United States an estimated 376,000 livestock operations confine animals, generating
approximately 128 billion pounds of manure each year. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are
the largest of these livestock operations and are regulated under the Clean Water Act.
In response to public concern about contamination of rivers, lakes, streams, coastal waters, and ground water
from livestock manure and other animal wastes from livestock operations, EPA and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) developed the UnifiedNationalStrategy for Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) in March
1999, as part of the Clean Water Action Plan. The
strategy includes a national goal that all "AFOs should
develop and implement technically sound, economically
feasible, and site-specific comprehensive nutrient
management plans (CNMPs) to minimize impact on
water quality and public health." As part of this strategy,
EPA announced that it would develop new approaches
for improving existing regulations for the largest
Why is livestock waste a water
quality concern?
Source: USDA ARS Image Gallery
operations, CAFOs. EPA currently administers two
Clean Water Act regulatory programs that pertain to
CAFOs: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permits and effluent guidelines.
For more than 20 years, Clean Water Act NPDES
permits and effluent guidelines for CAFOs have helped to
improve the quality of our nation's waters. However,
reports of manure runoff and waste discharges from
livestock operations show that the existing regulatory
program for CAFOs needs to be revised to prevent water
pollution.
The livestock industry has undergone dramatic changes
in the past 20 years. The continued trend toward fewer
but larger operations, coupled with greater emphasis on
more intensive production methods and specialization, is
concentrating more manure and other animal waste
constituents within some geographic areas. This trend has
coincided with an increased number of reports of large-
scale discharges from these facilities. In addition, more
and more of the larger livestock facilities are concen-
trated in areas where there is inadequate land to
accommodate the useful application of the animal
manure they produce.
Runoff from livestock operations enters water
bodies when poor maintenance of waste lagoons,
improper design of storage structures, improper
storage of animal waste, and excessive rainfall
result in spills and leaks of manure-laden water.
Overapplication of manure to
cropland is another Aig,, sioon,
source of animal waste
runoff. When
livestock manure
and other animal
waste spills or leaks
into surface or ground
water, it can create an
immediate threat to So"rc6; USM "RS "™96
public health and water resources. This runoff has
nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, that
in excess cause algae and other microorganisms to
reproduce in waterways, creating unsightly and
possibly harmful algae blooms. Explosive algae
populations can lower the level of dissolved
oxygen, which can cause fish and other aquatic
organisms to die. Spills from ruptured waste
lagoons and other faulty storage facilities have
killed tens of thousands of fish. Animal waste
runoff can also be a threat to the health of people
who come into contact with affected waters
because some of the microbes (bacteria, protozoa,
and viruses) in animal waste can cause disease.
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Inconsistent interpretation of current regulations over the
years by state and federal regulators has resulted in inad-
equate permitting and enforcement practices across the
country. Public concern, changes in the livestock industry,
persistent water quality problems, and public health risks
have demonstrated the need for simpler, nationally
consistent regulations that are more easily implemented and
enforced to protect public health and water resources.
What are the current CAFO
regulations?
Under the Clean Water Act, CAFOs are defined as point
sources of pollution and are therefore subject to NPDES
permit regulations. Under these regulations, CAFOs are
defined as facilities with 1,000 or more animal units (AU).
They are not considered CAFOs, however, if they discharge
only during a 25-year, 24-hour storm. An animal feeding operation
(AFO) that confines 300 to 1,000 AU is defined as a CAFO if it
discharges pollutants through a man-made structure or if pollutants are
discharged to waterways that run through the facility or come into
contact with the confined animals. The authority that issues NPDES
permits may also designate any AFO, including those with fewer than
300 AU, as a CAFO if it meets the definitions above and is a signifi-
cant source of water pollution.
For those facilities with more than 1,000 AU that need a permit, the
effluent guidelines establish national requirements limiting wastewater
discharges. EPA established the effluent guidelines for feedlots in 1974
based on the best available technology that was economically feasible
for the industry.
The current
effluent guidelines
do not allow
discharges of
pollutants from
CAFOs into the
Nation's waters
except when a
chronic or
catastrophic
storm causes an
overflow from a
facility that has been designed to contain manure and runoff during a
25-year, 24-hour storm. For permitted facilities with fewer than 1,000
AU, discharge limits are established using the permit writer's best
professional judgment.
What changes is EPA proposing for the
NPDES CAFO regulations?
EPA is proposing several changes to the NPDES regulations that
define which facilities are AFOs and which are CAFOs (that is, subject
to the NPDES program). These proposed changes include specific
requirements in NPDES permits for CAFO manure at both production
and land application areas.
Definition of an animal feeding operation (AFO)
• The proposed changes to this definition are intended to help permit
writers and permit holders clearly distinguish between confined
facilities and operations with only pasture or grazing land. Opera-
tions that maintain animals in confinement are considered AFOs.
Proposed definitions for CAFOs
Animal Type
Beef Cattle and Heifers
Veal Cattle
Dairy Cattle (mature
milked or dry)
Swine (>55 Ib)
Immature Swine (<55 Ib)
Turkeys
Chickens
Horses
Sheep or Lambs
Ducks
TwO'Tier Structure
Number of animals
equal to 500 AU
500
500
350
1,250
5,000
27,500
50,000
250
5,000
2,500
Three-Tier Structure
Number of animals
equal to 1,000 AU
1,000
1,000
700
2,500
10,000
55,000
100,000
500
10,000
5,000
Number of animals
equal to 300 AU
300
300
200
750
3,000
16,500
30,000
150
3,000
1,500
Aerial View of a CAFO
Source: Hoosier Environmental Council
Definition of a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO)
• Asking for comments on two alternative structures for defining CAFOs
(see table):
' A three-tier structure in which an AFO is a CAFO if it has more
than 1,000 AU, if it has 300 to 1,000 AU and it meets certain
conditions, or if the permit authority designates the facility a
CAFO. All facilities with 300 to 1,000 AU must either certify that
they do not meet the conditions for being defined as a CAFO or
apply for a permit; or
' A two-tier structure in which an AFO is a CAFO if it has 500 AU
or more. Facilities with fewer than 500 AU may become CAFOs
only if designated by the permit authority.
• Including new animal types that may be subject to NPDES permit
requirements:
' Dry manure-handling poultry operations
' Stand-alone swine nurseries and heifer operations
' Subcategory for veal operations
• Imposing on all CAFOs a duty to apply for a permit.
• Eliminating the 25-year, 24-hour storm permit exemption.
• Eliminating the "mixed animal type calculation."
Land application of CAFO manure
• Including the land application area in the CAFO definition.
• Requiring each CAFO to prepare and implement a site-specific permit
nutrient plan (PNP) that is prepared or approved by a certified planner,
identifies the nutrients generated at the facility, determines the amount
of nutrients needed by the planned crop rotation, and establishes
agronomic rates of
manure application.
• Clarifying that the
agricultural storm
water exemption is
applicable only where
CAFO manure is
land-applied
according to proper
agricultural practices.
• Proposing two
options for recipients
of CAFO manure: Source: USDA ARS image Gallery
Recipents must certify they are land-applying at proper agronomic
rates unless there is a state program for addressing excess manure.
No certification is required, but the CAFO operator must maintain
records of manure transferred.
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Permit requirements
• Requiring processors that exercise substantial operational control
over contract growers to be co-permitted.
• Requiring a CAFO to maintain a permit until the facility is
properly closed, including proper closure of manure storage.
• Clarifying the NPDES requirements pertaining to discharges to
ground water through a direct hydrological connection to surface
water.
• Improving public access to information in the following ways:
Requiring the permit authority to publish quarterly a list of
CAFOs covered under a general permit. [A general NPDES
permit is written to cover a category of point sources with
similar characteristics (such as CAFOs) for a defined geo-
graphic area.]
Requiring permittees to submit a notice that they have
developed or amended the PNP
Proposing that the CAFO operator make the executive
summary of the PNP publicly available upon request and
considering making the entire PNP publicly available.
Proposing that states must conduct a public process for
determining when individual permits must be issued.
What changes is EPA proposing for the
CAFO effluent guidelines?
EPA is proposing several
changes to the effluent
guidelines for CAFOs,
including guidelines
concerning animal
confinement and manure
storage areas, as well as
land application and off-
site transfer of manure.
• Requiring CAFOs to maintain records on the amount and destination
of manure and wastewater transferred off-site.
Turkey Operation
Source: Gene Alexander
* Applying the effluent guidelines to all facilities that meet the
"Definition of a concentrated animal feeding operation" as
described in the previous section on changes to the NPDES
CAFO regulations (i.e., three-tier and two-tier structures).
Animal confinement and manure storage areas
• Requiring all beef and dairy CAFOs and new swine, poultry, and
veal CAFOs to perform an assessment to determine whether a
hydrologic link exists from ground water beneath the feedlot and
manure storage area to surface water.
• Adopting a zero discharge requirement with no overflow allow-
ance for swine, veal, and poultry CAFOs.
• Requiring routine inspections of the production area to ensure that
wastewater and manure handling and storage are functioning properly.
• Requiring installation of depth markers for liquid impoundments
(e.g., lagoons, ponds, and tanks) that are open and capture
precipitation.
• Requiring CAFOs to handle dead animals in ways that prevent
contributing pollutants to waters.
Land application and off-site transfer of manure
• Requiring CAFO operators to determine the nutrient needs of
their crops based on realistic crop yields, to sample soil to
determine nutrient content, and to refrain from applying manure
in quantities that exceed the land-application rate calculated using
the Phosphorus Index, Phosphorus Threshold, or Soil Test
Phosphorus Method (NRCS 590 Standard).
"' Establishing setback requirements that prohibit applying manure
and wastewater within 100 feet of surface water.
What are the costs
of the proposed
regulations?
EPA estimates that the
proposed regulations will
result in compliance costs to
CAFO operators of $850
million to $940 million per
year, depending on which
proposals are finalized.
Poultry Operation
Source: USDA ARS Image Gatteiy
How many AFOs will be regulated as CAFOs?
EPA's proposals would regulate between 26,000 and 39,000 AFOs or 5 to
10 percent of all AFOs, and would address 60 to 70 percent of all AFO
manure.
When will the proposed regulations become final
and be implemented?
EPA plans to take final action on these regulations by December 15, 2002
(published approximately by January 2003).
For newly defined CAFOs, permits will not be required until 3 years after
the final regulations are published (January 2006).
Once the proposed regulations are final, the new requirements will be in
effect immediately for new or reissued permits.
How to obtain a copy of the proposed regulations:
On December 15, 2000, Administrator Browner signed the proposed
revisions to the NPDES regulations and effluent guidelines for CAFOs.
On January 12, 2001, the Federal Register published these proposed
revisions. You can obtain a copy by going to the EPA Office of Waste-water
Management's web site at http://www.epa.gov/owm/afo.htm.
How to comment on the proposed regulations:
EPA encourages all interested individuals and groups to comment on
these proposed regulations. The public comment period begins on the day
the regulations are published in the Federal Register and is open for
comment until July 30, 2001. You may send your comments to EPA in a
number of ways.
• By e-mail: CAFOs.comments@epa.gov
• By postal service:
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Proposed Rule
USEPA Office of Water
Engineering and Analysis Division (4303)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
• By hand delivery:
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Proposed Rule
USEPA Office of Water
401 M Street, SW
Room 611 West Tower
Washington DC 20460
Please submit any references cited in your comments. Please submit an
original and three copies of your written comments and enclosures.
EPA suggests that you contact organizations of which you are a member to
find out if the organizations are commenting on the proposed regulations.
If you have any questions about this process, please call the CAFO
HOTLINE at (202) 564-0766.
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency (4203)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
Where can I find more information on CAFOs?
Additional information on NPDES regulations and effluent guidelines affecting CAFOs can be obtained by contacting the EPA headquarters Office of
Wastewater Management and Office of Science and Technology or your nearest EPA Regional Office contact listed below.
Office of Wastewater Management
Permits Division (4203)
United States Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 564-0766, (202) 564-6384 Fax
Office of Science and Technology
Engineering and Analysis Division (4303)
United States Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 564-0766, (202) 260-7185 Fax
Mr. Bruce Rosinoff
Office of Ecosystem Protection
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 1, One Congress Street
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203-0001
(617) 918-1698, (617) 918-1505 Fax
Ms. Andrea Coats
Division of Environmental Planning and Protection
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 2, 290 Broadway
New York, NY 10007-1866
(212) 637-3850, (212) 637-3772 Fax
Ms. Mary Letzkus
Water Protection Division
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 3, 1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA19103
(215) 814-2087, (215) 814-2301 Fax
Ms. Hilda Hatzell
Water Management Division
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 562-9445, (404) 562-8692 Fax
Mr. Stephen Jann
Water Division
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
(312) 886-2446, (312) 353-4135 Fax
Mr. Kenneth Huffman
Water Quality Protection Division
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 6, Fountain Place 12th Floor, Suite 1200
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202-2733
(214) 665-7504, (214) 665-2191 Fax
Mr. Ralph Summers
Water, Wetlands and Pesticides Division
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 7, 901 North 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
(913) 551-7418, (913) 551-7765 or 7165 Fax
Ms. Debra Thomas
Office of Partnership and Regulatory Assistance
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 8, 999 18th Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80202-2466
(303) 312-6373, (303) 312-6741 Fax
Ms. Shirin Tolls
Water Division
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 744-1898, (415) 744-2499 Fax
Mr. David Allnut
Office of Water
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 553-2581, (206) 553-0163 Fax
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